Koi wo shite owari wo tsuge
by Rivain
Summary: This takes "Old Soul" to a whole new meaning; I wanted nothing more than to protect people even if I never truly felt like I belonged. Now I have been blessed with everything I have yearned the last 28 years for. Now I am at a crossroads do I change things and accept all the pain and death for the next decade or so & who do I tell. We Texans are quite independent people, you know.
1. Chapter 0

_The only way I could explain how I felt the moment I woke up in this world was completely and utterly **defeated**. As I trudged behind what I remembered as the men who were Kushina's kidnappers, I couldn't help but wonder why in **my final moments** this scene was playing behind my eyes. Why was I looking through the eyes of the very women I **strove** to be. Wasn't this supposed to be the time when **my** **life** flashes before my eyes; when I am forced to face **every** **regret** I held and **judged** for just about **everything** I had done with my life? _

_At first I thought that perhaps I had been kidnapped, myself. The last thing I remembered before suddenly finding myself watch curiously clothed feet step in front of one another was wondering if Jackson and them got out alive. Wondering if the tourniquet I threw on Baker would hold until the medical unit could get to him. I was still trying to push more adrenaline through my veins to hold off the enemy from my injured brothers and sisters to my left and right. Trying to ignore their cries for their mother, for me - their medic, or their loved one who were thousands of miles away._

 _Knowing that I was finally at that point where there was absolutely nothing I could do. Where I couldn't physically guard my flock. I was at that God-awful point in every sheepdogs life, where you were simply not enough and had to accept that you couldn't._

 ** _You. Just. Couldn't._**

 _At first I could push myself away from this hell, away from what I could only describe as my failure to my fallen siblings and bury myself in one last chapter. One first and final verse of my life, but eventually the pain was too much. My hand was shaking too violently and my vision was fading. As my vision went it was like the hell around me was put on full blast._

 _And I was left with just about the last thing anyone who was like me wanted to be left with._

 _ **My thoughts**_

 _I was and always have been damn good at putting the blame on myself. And even though I knew that these were my final moments I did just that. I didn't seek redemption, I just took responsibility. Momma and Poppa, brother and sister, lovers and even that hot chick from this-and-that bar were thousands of miles away. They could do literally nothing for the men and women that surrounded **me**. It were those very people, my brethren, who were crying out for those loved ones that entrusted **me** to defend those that lay crumpled and crying on the floor around **me**. It was not only my job as a fellow soldier; but a sibling, a sheepdog, family to make sure that **they** made it  home in **one piece**. How many people had pulled me aside silently before we took off and asked me to just that? How many of my soldiers families had looked at me with hope in their eyes?! _

_And here **I** am, writing a  fucking letter._

 _Now on the brink of death, instead of thinking of a way to beat this and find some magical way to get us **all out** of here **alive**. I chose now to be a _ selfish bitch _._

 _ **I** was looking, wishing, yearning for the one thing I could **not** ever have. _

_**I** was looking into the eyes of the man- no right now boy, who would do absolutely **anything** for _her _. For **not** myself, but the _woman _\- no girl whose eyes I was_ borrowing _. He would turn into- no he was always the man and even boy she needed to bear the burden that she held for all those around her._

 _SGT Nightingale, Melody was selfishly imagining herself finding that **impossible** person to take some of the load off of her shoulders that she carried for everyone around her which had literally taken her to her straight to her _death _. Instead of finding a way to save all those who she promised to keep safe._

 ** _My Death..._**

 _The pain was unbearable, but it wasn't a pain any sort of pain I could explain nevertheless fix._

 _It felt as if my heart was being held in someone's hand and crushed as I stared into those deep blue eyes. It was worse than that feeling I got when people crushed my hopes about them time and time again, but it felt so much more personal. I wanted to cry out in joy and pain at those beautiful blue eyes._

 _At the same time it felt as if my mind was being pulled in two different directions; I could clearly see everything that I had lived through. The war, the training, the death, the heartache and repetitive disappointment. It was all there SGT Nightingale was there, laughing with her friends, crying through scenes that hit close to home in all her favorite shows. Tears when people she- no I could most relate with or simply idolized died before my eyes. Jiraiya, Dean, Mufasa, Kushina, my grandmother, Bobby Singer, Captain America, Remus Lupin, Captain Kirk, my high school friend Jackie, Minato, Jeremy, Toboe._

 _Then on the other hand there was this innocence; I had always assumed it was the childhood that was snatched from me at a young age. The little girl who was neglected in order to take care of my siblings and deal with the ever-changing world I was born in. Only this time instead of seeing memories of a simpler time before my parents split; these were the memories of a certain red haired kunoichi I had vowed to become more like as I entered my early twenties. There was information in there that no one except maybe the creator would have known; there were personal feelings toward people who just simply didn't exist. On top of all that were memories that this child, this woman had based off of the information of Melody._

 _It didn't make sense but did all at the same time._

 _The migraine,_

 _I had never experienced one prior to this, but this sounded just like people described it. I had been cursed with them more frequently toward the end of my life. Toward the end of Melody's life? This was getting far too confusing. I had always had a problem with life, with the world I found myself in. I never quite felt like I belonged._

 _I don't believe I truly did._

 _Pain along with complete and utter darkness. This is what Death must have felt like. Disappointment and regret._

 _For the first time, I **wanted** it all to end. _

_I felt as if I was watching two different scenes play before my eyes, split vertically and both hazy. On one side I felt the darkness begin to consume me, I watched in horror as familiar uniformed men made their way through the bodies that surrounded me, it felt as if someone was holding a magnifying glass over me; I was scared for those around me. On the other my vision was slowly coming back to me, I was in a forest and there was a pain around my wrists and it was the middle of the night as a cool breeze brushed across my skin, here I was terrified for myself._

 _In both cases I was losing hope._

 _For a moment on both sides as my eyes adjusted, or rather tried to, there was a blinding light. On the first side a silver glint on the other the moon escaping from cloud cover. Simultaneously I locked eyes with two sets of familiar blue eyes; the first ran up to me in that uniform, the second stood a safe distance away- both were smiling and spoke at the same time._

 _"I came to save you."_

 _And darkness consumed me._


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** I figured after years of stories being thrown up on here things like this would not be needed to be said but; I do not own Naruto merely the plot behind this story and my original character Melody.

Additionally updates will fall anywhere between Thursday to Saturday.

This being an exception, I was elated to see I had two followers already and so this is for you guys: **HollySutterlin** and **The-Blind-Otaku**.

* * *

"I came to save you." It took a moment for the true meaning behind those words to fully set in, but when they did it felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders and her body finally succumb to exhaustion. She couldn't quite understand or rather comprehend what was going on, her memories were a jumbled mess of information- the sole conclusion she had come to was that she was either dead or damn near close to it. She was hallucinating and with that conclusion her legs gave out from under her. "You'll be all right now." She looked up into the eyes of the impossible and just like that she felt weightless like she was going up a roller coaster.

She felt free.

"Oi! Wait a minute!" She tensed at the sudden change but quickly relaxed at the sight before her. The moon, the tree canopy flowing beneath them like a green ocean, it was like nothing she had ever seen before… not as Melody. No, Melody had never been blessed with being saved by the last person she expected it from- or even the first. Never had anyone gone out of their way for her to the extent that the very person she dreamed of meeting every night had. Never had she looked up from the arms of her savior and fallen for them under the moonlight.

Feeling guilty she looked away from him, as she did long red strands of hair caught her attention and her heart froze. "That's…" She was shocked if nothing else; sure she remembered pulling out strands of her hair and even knowing that _Kushina_ had fiery red hair didn't explain this phenomenon. In _all_ her dreams, even when she was seeing them through someone else's eyes, she was still Melody. She  should have seen curly brown hair in between Minato's fingers instead there were beautiful strands of red hair. Melody or rather Kushina found herself being thrown back and forth between memories and emotions.

On one side, Melody absolutely adored the red color and was inspired by what it represented: Independence, Love, Hope, Strength, Determination… all the characteristics she wanted to have. On the other young Kushina felt nothing but Disgust, Hatred, Embarrassment and Anger- severely clashing with the former.

"Your hair is beautiful. So I noticed it right away." His voice snapped her out of the sudden burst of emotion she felt staring at those strands. In a blink of an eye Melody was bombarded with emotions she had long since sealed away once she had changed MOS's to become a medic and the words slipped from her mouth without so much as a second thought.

"But you've always ignored me." She didn't like how suddenly she seemed to have lost control of all her bearing all those years of training to hide behind the mask she allowed everyone to see. But it was refreshing, speaking her mind and not constantly evaluating the situation before deciding to say either exactly what the person wanted or needed to hear.

Even so she still cursed herself as she looked away knowing the hurt was showing as plain as day in her eyes. Not willing to admit just how surprised these emotions coming from the young red-head truly rung true to her.

"Because I know that you're strong..." _I had to have died_ , she concluded as she looked up in shock at the blond haired future Hokage. _I had to have died- whether I was now in heaven or hell was up to anyone's interpretation._ "...In body and in spirit." He landed on top of a tree and this time looked her directly in the eye. "But this is a fight between two villages." She was finally with the one thing she always wanted, "It's different from your other fights, so…" She was staring into those two deep pools of blue she had been chasing endlessly for the last decade and some change of her former life.

"So?" But she was also cursed with knowing everything from that time, all of that knowledge swimming through a young child's body. And not only some random young child, but that of the woman who gave her a purpose in life after she was lost for so long. She now felt obligated to live up to that memory, to live up to the person who had saved her from the darkness and who may ultimately never come to exist because of her own arrival.

"I didn't want to lose you." Slowly she could feel her mind clearing up, she could feel herself meld with her idol as they both were given a purpose… given a reason to keep fighting for the people they swore to protect. A great wind blew through their claustrophobic mind-scape with it came the soothing smell of the ocean and lilies.

"Even if I'm an outsider?" Both voices that were once fighting for dominance spoke at once. Young Kushina could feel the chaos of her once shrinking mind-scape begin to crumble as grass began breaking through the concrete slabs beneath her. She had tried her hardest to become full of love like Mito-Senpai had told her, but there was something missing and the growing darkness forced her to build these walls. So when the young red head found a caramel skinned curly haired brunette in her mind with a whole new batch of memories after she had just been kidnaped and begun to lose hope, she was immediately defensive.

"Why do you say that?" Images of both worlds: Kushina's life Uzushiogakure followed by Konoha and Melody's time in the service flew through her mind. "You live in the Hidden Leaf Village, so you're one of us." Inside both the woman and preteen looked at one another as they reached an unspoken understanding, the walls of their prison were thrown back disappearing into the pleasant field enveloped their mind-scape and both the twenty-eight-year-old woman and the thirteen-year-old Genin were of the same mind.

 _To hell with the complications all of this brought about_ ; _I am not going give them the pleasure of stealing everything from me once again._ Kushina thought, as she looked over at the tired looking twenty-eight year old. _She had gone through twenty-eight years of disappointment and loneliness._ They were separate in their minds for compartmentalization purposes, but they were one in the same.

Kushina bit her lip as the elder rolled over, she had explained after they had passed out in Minato's arms that she would slowly begin to fade away with time. That she would like to sit down and write out all of her own memories about this world for them to use in the future. The memories would be there, the sooner she mastered her Fūinjutsu the better. Melody wanted to seal those away so they wouldn't be forgotten with her form. Kushina had teared up at this idea, as far as she was concerned Melody was a miracle as much of a miracle as Minato.

A blessing.

Hope.

Melody had promised to keep some of her more gruesome memories from their mind. Anything that didn't have to do with their future family Melody was willing to give up. As they slept Melody had walked her through the information she had on her son; it was a curious feeling. Feeling other people emotions that is. Melody, even when all of this was just some sort of entertainment was immediately drawn to Minato's face on the Hokage mountain, she wasn't close or could relate to any of the younger generation. Instead while other kids her age, because they were kids at the time when this first showed, fell in mad and even obsessive love with the Genin Nine- Sasuke and Gaara namely- and referred to themselves as the kids in that generation, she felt more connected to Kakashi out of those who were living and later Tsunade when she was introduced. Everyone agreed that neither of them seemed to fit her and she found herself drawing, doodling and painting the Hokage Mountain when she got lost in her thoughts.

Kushina caught glimpses of the war that Melody lived through and the darkness that threatened to consume her even when Melody tried to jump passed them it was such a large part of her being... but it wasn't what made Melody... Melody. Kushina looked up to the twenty-eight year old residing in her mind, no their mind. She was happy to have finally found her other half.

Her Yin if you must.

And as they began to return from their unconscious state Kushina as a whole had completely made up her mind. She would die before she let the events they had watched come to pass. She would die before she let her son become orphaned. She would die before she allowed her husband to seal up half of the Nine-Tails with the Shiki Fūjin. She would find a way to change things and if that meant her death.

Well it was a good thing she was, or at least was going to be, a renowned Seals Master.

* * *

 **Ending Notes:** I am all about long chapters, read any of my other stories and that should be easy enough to see. I am not promising that these will turn out that long all the time because I feel like that would give me a reason to use as an excuse.

Aside of that I hope you enjoyed it and I will have another chapter posted up at the end of next week!


	3. Chapter 2

**Author Note** : I figure it is best that I point out that I do not have a beta yet. The good news is that I tend to reread all of my work before posting up a new chapter or even thinking of one. Bad news, that means it can take up to a week or longer for me to notice mistakes. I am completely cool with being informed of any mistakes you may spot out; unfortunately even with how quickly I type my mind moves quicker so don't be surprised if a couple of my sentences seem to be broken, I likely completely jumped over a part.

Gomen ahead of time for that: but please, enjoy.

* * *

"You know it's likely a good time now to wake up, sleeping beauty." Kushina looked over at the brunette haired woman who was looking down at her, something about the bright blue sky was extremely familiar to her. "I mean I don't know all the details, or rather didn't. Hadn't? Ugh, this is confusing. Needless to say, what exactly happens between now and the time you are told you are- we are. Oh for the love of apple pie, up until you are told you are pregnant I don't know much about what the hell actually happened during your life." The red haired kunoichi sat up and watched as the female paced back and forth. "The more I think about it the more that bothers me, but whatever. I need you to wake us up so we can get our minds...slash mind… ugh, so we can get started on this Fūinjutsu stuff."

"I have a whole collection of information stored back at home." Kushina offered, "I am sure we can learn a lot through them." The brunette smiled and ruffled the top of her hair.

"You are just too adorable." She laughed, "I think I can get used to this. But seriously, we have to wake up now."

"Oi, for the love of-" Violet eyes scanned the room she found herself in and shivered involuntarily bringing both her hands up to rub the opposite arm as the door opened up. A brunette haired kunoichi walked in and smiled when their eyes met.

"Kushina-chan you're awake."

"Seriously stop the honorifics." The red haired Genin slapped her hand over her mouth at the stunned gaze of the nurse and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I never was a morning, person." The nurse slowly nodded and smiled before walking over and offering her the cup of water that was on the table next to her.

"You had a good number of people worried Kushina. Can I call you that." Kushina dropped her hands from her mouth and nodded sheepishly, "You have some really good friends." The way the medic nin's voice carried the last word irked the red head, Kushina instantly caught the second meaning behind it even before the kunoichi's lips moved. "A certain blond haired shinobi kept swinging by here. Is he a friend of yours? I think he has a crush on you..."

Kushina couldn't help it, the way the medical-nin had attempted to slyly mumble that last sentence was just a tad bit too loud and her sing-song voice was crap at best. So Kushina laughed, causing the woman to look over in her direction. "Gomen, Gomen Senpai. But I could have sworn you said that Minato-kun was my friend?" That seemed to floor the nurse, "He rescued me, yes, but that is just about the extent of our social interaction."

"He seemed to care very much about your well-being." Kushina fell onto some of Melody's old training to keep her bearing. "Does him saving you mean nothing?"

"It doesn't mean I have to fall in love with him, ya know." Kushina blatantly stated slash lied, "What? I'm not going to fib and say I had everything under control. I'm a Genin and was ambushed while at home...alone. Let's be frank here kunoichi-san." Kushina couldn't help herself, the irritation Melody was feeling was overwhelming her. "If they wanted me dead, I would have been dead hours before anyone noticed I was missing. Found in a puddle of blood. I am eternally grateful that Minato-san came and saved me when he did. I am forever in his debt, but that doesn't mean that I am going to expect him or anyone else to do that for me again. " She didn't notice it but her red hair was beginning to rise, "I'll make the next group of shinobi who try to pull something like this rue the day they were born, just you watch me."

"Hai, hai. Calm down Kushina-chan you just woke up." Kushina's left eye twitched at the slip-up and the brunette seemed to have noticed but was luckily saved from a tongue lashing by the door opening up a second time.

"Hokage-sama." Both females replied as the elder and leader of the village walked in. Kushina's hair fell and she felt herself taking back control as Melody rolled over in their mind-scape and had she had a tail it and been a feline, it would have been swaying back and forth in annoyance.

"May we have a minute, Yumi-chan?" The medic nodded and scurried out of the room but not before glancing back at the two curiously as she shut the door behind her. Kushina watched the Hokage as he made his way over to the chair at the side of her bed before sitting down. The two of them sat there for a moment and Kushina would have sworn that he was looking into the depths of her soul as they sat there. She was sincerely worried that perhaps he could tell that she wasn't exactly the same as she was the last time he saw her.

Hokage-sama was a nice man, but he was also a busy man with the war going on and between the two of them they knew that him being here meant something. Rarely did he visit her or Mito-sempai just because.

Finally after what felt like hours of dreaded silence that forced Kushina to break eye contact, at Melody's request, to look out the window he spoke up. "How are you feeling?" Violet eyes were locked once again with his brown and luckily Melody chose to stand back during this confrontation, muttering something about not wanting to add fuel to the fire.

"Starving, ya know." Once again her hands were over her mouth and Melody was face palming though smirking.

"Hungry? Is there anything I can do about that?" Kushina looked from him then around the room.

"Could you possibly sneak some Ramen in?" Kushina asked quietly as she leaned over toward him, "I promise to eat more vegetables."

Melody watched in the background eyeing the confrontation, trying to get a feel for just who Sarutobi was at this point in time. She knew he had mellowed out after the war, attack and reinstatement- but unfortunately while she was passionately curious about this period of time it was skipped over and shown in short flashbacks.

"We'll just have to see what I can do for you about that." Once again the two were sitting in silence, violet eyes wandered over to the window and after about three minutes of silence she spoke up.

"Are you going to ask me to move into the village, Hokage-sama?" Kushina was voicing Melody's thoughts, something the soldier didn't seem to care too much for if her glare were any indication. Hiruzen looked away from her choosing to look outside the window himself.

"Yes."

"It makes sense. Mito-sempai is gone and not coming back. I have already been kidnapped once and the chances of that happening again are relatively high seeing as the compound is on the edge of the village." Kushina smiled, "It's the most logical decision but can I ask for something in return." Sarutobi looked away from the window and back at the Uzumaki.

* * *

Kushina was startled out of her conversation with the Hokage when the door slammed open. "Kush~ Oh! Gomen Hokage-sama." The elder looked from the new guest and over to Kushina before bringing a hand down on her head and messing up her hair in a very similar manner that Melody had earlier.

"It's quite alright, I was just leaving." Kushina watched as the Uchiha bowed as the elder passed, "The village cannot run itself," _Translation: The war cannot run itself._ "I must be getting back to the tower. It was a pleasure speaking with you today, Kushina-chan."

"The pleasure is all mine Hokage-sama." And with that he was gone and Mikoto was at her side. Before either Kushina or Melody could realize the danger, they were nursing what was sure to be a lump on the back of their head. _Oi! Aren't Uchiha supposed to be all dark, gloomy and boring_? Melody groaned _that bloody hurt_. "Oi, I missed you too, Mikoto-chan."

"Oi?" Kushina flushed, having unintentionally picked up on one of Melody's not as quirky fall-back words. "Not important. Tell me what happened." Images of another girl from another world flashed in Kushina's mind, she made a note to bring that up to Melody later before she was struck with a brilliant idea.

'Mikoto-chaaan." The Uchiha stiffened immediately, recognizing the tone. "What do you say we bust out of here?"

"No."

"Great- first we will- wait, **what**?!"

"I said no. Kushina you were kidnapped and apparently out cold for a couple of days."

" **WHAT?!** " With that, the covers were thrown off and she was on her feet. Shaking but still standing. "I have to get out of here. I have things to do, ya know. Scrolls to read, family techniques to master all on my own. I don't have time to be laying around." And with that she was out the window that she had been looking at not but a half hour prior.

* * *

"That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would." Kushina smiled to herself as she looked at the packed boxes. _I would refrain from speaking to yourself out loud._ Melody smirked causing the Habanero to physically glare. "And where exactly have you been?" Kushina had originally run over to Ichiraku's after busting free and downed a couple of bowls of heaven before returning home. She had a lot that she needed to get done and time was ticking. She had sat down and meditated for an hour or so in hopes of speaking with the brunette and planning out what they should do, only to find the soldier nowhere to be found. So she decided to get ahead of packing and head on over to the place the Hokage had set aside for her.

"I was out on a mission." Instinctively, especially now more so with Melody, a kunai was thrown from her pouch and at the familiar but sudden voice. A second one was in hand. "Whoa!" There was a thud from the kunai embedded itself into the wall.

"That had to have been the most **stupid** thing you could have done. I was just kidnapped, _ya know_." Kushina grumbled turning to face their blond haired comrade and future Hokage.

"You've gotten better at aiming at a moment's notice." He noted out loud looking at her handiwork. "That would have hurt had I not moved." Kushina's right eye twitched at the supposedly unintentional insult. "That aside _everyone_ is looking for you."

"I highly doubt it, the first place they would and should have looked would have been here," Kushina replied as she made her way to the kitchen to grab some cups for her and her uninvited guest. That was one of the reasons she had gone to Ichiraku's first, in hopes to completely miss them. _And let's face it if it were really important the ANBU would have done something by now._

"You were just kidnapped from here, even I checked Ichiraku's first," Minato replied as she came back in with two cups of water, not really in the mood to make tea. "What's with the boxes?"

"Just tell me why you are here Minato," Kushina spoke before taking a drink, "You rarely spoke to me before the incident and now I can't seem to shake you- awake or asleep." She smirked at the blush he tried to cover by taking a drink himself. "Don't misunderstand me, I am grateful for the rescue in all. But I am not a porcelain doll."

"I was just checking up on a friend after I returned from my mission," Minato replied, "You were out for a week."

" **A WEEK?!** " The water that was once about to be swallowed now drenched the blond. "Mikoto said a couple of days!" With that, she was standing and stacking boxes before handing them to her visitor. "Come on friend, grab a couple of these boxes and help your _friend_ move into their new abode. That's what _friends_ do, _ya know_. "

Having just enough time to stand before three boxes were handed to him Minato nearly lost his balance for a moment while Kushina made her way to grab three of her own boxes. "K-Kushina~" Before he could voice his own concerns about her running around with these unusually heavy but well-packed boxes the redhead was gone and he was taking chase.

"Come on slow poke! Time waits for no man!" Kushina was gracefully dodging villagers left and right as she bee-lined toward her new housing arrangement. Minato wasn't too far behind apologizing to those they passed for the both of them. "And don't you **dare** drop those boxes!" She threatened.

The compound Kushina was staying at was a good ways away from the village center and from where he stayed. Originally hearing that Kushina would be moving into the village gave him all the more reason to find her, not that her escaping from the hospital wasn't reason enough. The chances of him being able to keep an eye out for her could possibly become an easier task, especially as she made her way toward the complexes where most of the shinobi lived.

As he watched the river of red slip between the crowds his sensei's words echoed in his mind. "Kushina is a very special Kunoichi. The Uzumaki Clan was quite the formidable foe and many would kill to get their hands on a living member." Minato frowned, there wasn't too much knowledge about the Uzumaki's open to the public. Much like with the Uchiha or Hyuuga's it would seem that they kept their hand close to their chest and according to reports there was nothing salvageable in the remains of their village. Anything that was recovered had seals that could possibly never be opened."

Minato frowned as they passed the area where Genin and Chunnin lived, he was about to voice his concerns when the Uzumaki made her way up a staircase for Jonin ranked shinobi. Five flights up and they were standing outside of a room 59. "Home sweet home!" The kunoichi chirped as she unlocked the door -by handing two more boxes to him need he add- and walked in.

It was much larger than the place he was staying in and surprisingly already furnished. He attempted to walk into the apartment but found himself stopped by an invisible barrier. "What are you waiting for blondie~" Kushina yelled, he had enough time to turn and see her peeking her head from what looked like the kitchen area. "Oh, right. Here give me those." She muttered grabbing the five boxes and setting them down next to the one she had.

"A seal?" She grunted as she shifted through the boxes seemingly looking for something. Minato brought his hand up to the entrance and watched in awe as his hand lay flat against a familiar chakra signature. "You created this?" There was another grunt of acknowledgement, from his companion. "Wow."

"Aha~!" I told you to put all the brushes in their own box, Kushina heard Melody mumble as she rolled her eyes and walked back over to the blond before grabbing his hand. He winced, "Quite being a wuss, it's just a minor shock…" She mumbled as drew a kunai out and cut through the top of her hand holding his, brush in mouth. Blue eyes watched intently as she brought their hands up so she could dab the bristles in red before flipping them over and slicing through his own hand repeating the process. "Lift up your shirt." Minato blanched as she pulled his shirt up and drew kami knows what on his stomach, before he could recover she slammed her hand down on his skin, pulled it back nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

 _I give you kudos for not turning beet red there._ Melody smirked as the red head violently cleaned off two more cups before filling them with water. _Now the question is how will the rest of the visit fair._

Much to Melody's disappointment after the two downed a cup of water Kushina had them shuffling back and forth between the two places. Brown eyes watched from the perspective of violet ones as boxes upon boxes were brought to their new home. Mikoto had swung by sometime after their third trip and if looks could kill they would be dead.

In the future Hokage's defense, he attempted to start a couple of conversations with his future wife, but they didn't get too far...

* * *

"So the Jōnin complex."

"Hokage-sama wants me around people who can prevent last week's incident from happening again."

* * *

"Feel good to finally be up and moving after a week?"

"I can't believe I was out a week. I am so behind on my studies, how am I supposed to become Konoha's first female Hokage if a simple kidnapping leaves me out for a week!" Kushina ranted as they walked up the stairs once more.

* * *

"What's in these boxes?"

"All sorts of things; namely books, scrolls, inkwells, ink brushes, ink."

"In eighteen boxes?"

"Oi, I didn't see you complaining when they saved your ass...

* * *

"Do you have any food in any of these?"

"Food? Who needs food with Ichiraku's a hopscotch away."

"Hopscotch?" Kushina mentally cursed Melody as said brunette laughed uncontrollably.

"A walk away."

* * *

 _Careful, if you are too hostile you are going to scare off everyone_ Melody finally warned as the sun was retreating. _Trust me, being hostile because you are embarrassed is a damn good way to end up alone. Fiesty on the other hand... people are more open to that._

"Minato." The blond looked over to Konoha's Habanero as he opened the door, "Thanks." She added crossing her arms and looking at the yet-to-be-decorated wall. "For everything."

"It's what friends do, no?" She slowly looked over to those beautiful blue eyes before smiling and nodding. "Be safe Kushina." With that, he shut the door and they were left to their own thoughts once more. _You go ahead and get some sleep_ , Melody spoke up from the depths of their mind as she took control. _I'll get us to bed and study some of those sealing theories of yours, or better yet write out what I can remember in one of the other languages I know. I'll use up as little energy as I can and get some food in our stomach before its time for you to get moving._

"Technically we will be running on no sleep." Kushina mused.

"In a sense. But believe me when I say that not losing any of this information is worth a couple of nights of no sleep. At least until I can lock them away for you to view later."

 _Save a couple of your favorite memories as well, will ya?_ Kushina muttered watching in awe as Melody took out an inkwell, brush and some scrolls and began writing in a foreign text. _When we finally learn how to do this all mentally of course…_

Melody paused mid-stroke for a moment then smiled at the request before nodding. "Sure."

* * *

So this chapter was lost a couple of times and work cut into the time I set aside to write it, but I suppose it's not too awful.

Anyway, I am trying to decide on how long I want to spend pushing Kushina and Melody through their childhood. I may do a little time skip to Kakashi's birth at least and work from there before jumping again to Team 7. I have a plan for them already and if I haven't told you already this is likely going to turn AU.

Anywho thank you for reading.

 **Updated 091215**


	4. Chapter 3

Kushina was pretty darn sure that Melody knew what she was doing and the fact that the soldier was doing nothing about it told the teen that she wasn't _technically_ doing anything wrong. Or at least not enough so to have the brunette bring it up.

The first night hadn't been so bad.

For the majority of the night, Melody was simply writing down important information on any and everything she could think of that pertained to their future family and the village. For a good thirty minutes, Kushina watched as their hand moved in unfamiliar strokes and produced what she could only guess was one of these other languages that the brunette knew. And not being the one for patience, unless it had to do with Seals, the redhead grew bored and chose to explore their new mind.

The second night she was able to guess the vowels of this other language easily enough and searched for some other simple patterns. That lasted maybe twenty minutes before she decided that wandering aimlessly once more would prove to be more interesting.

About two days after that, a mental test with Melody over the alphabet she was writing in and at least eight face-palms later Kushina found herself once more in their mind if nothing else than to not upset the elder. It came as quite the surprise to her when she turned around and found a white and brown medium sized dog staring up at her. It wasn't as large as most of the Inuzuka's, but it wasn't the size of a cat either. She seemed nice enough, had come from only goodness knows where and spun around a few times before jumping up onto Kushina's knees and running off.

That was all it took for Kushina to take chase.

* * *

" _You're turning twenty-one…" Kushina heard Melody speak as stared at a tall slender male version of the brunette. "There was no way that I_ _ **wasn't**_ _taking you to Vegas to get you hammered and make horrible life decisions." The dark skinned male looked at them, whatever confusion Kushina had upon entering this scene was completely gone when she recognized the uniform everyone was wearing as that of Melody's when she first appeared, then over to the soldiers behind the desk._

" _Don't look at us. She came down here_ _six months_ _ago and talked to the Captain." The one named Chavez laughed, "Come on Nightingale even super soldiers need a break."_

" _You don't understand what kind of hell you just unleashed." The male grumbled in a very familiar fashion._

" _Come on now Maverick, don't be like that!" Melody laughed, she was happy and that made Kushina smile looking at the soldier. "What kind of_ sister _would I be if I didn't assist you in making horrible life decisions. Not that you really need the help." She snickered as he dodged her playful swing. Kushina was smiling like an idiot now at this new piece of information. Family was a sore spot for her so the topic hadn't even crossed her mind when the soldier showed up or in the weeks that followed._

" _I am almost a hundred percent sure that,_ that _was an insult." While his arms were crossed and he was obviously pouting Kushina could see the admiration and amusements behind his brown eyes. They weren't quite the same shade as Melody's, no they weren't that doe brown hue they were more of a milk chocolate and there seemed to be a familiar twinkle in them that Kushina could relate with._

* * *

Melody looked outside their window by their bed and frowned at the coming dawn; Kushina had wandered off once again into the recesses of their mind. The brunette smirked to herself as she yawned and curled herself up in the covers it had been another night of jotting down as much of anything that she could remember before getting annoyed and studying the Uzumaki scrolls for the remainder of the night. "As much as I would love to spend the rest of the day with you, my one true love, I fear that my arch nemesis **work** simply refuses to see us together." There was a moment of silence before the soldier groaned out and rolled out of the confines of her warm cocoon.

Memories of Maverick and her family had been on her mind as of late. Specifically the one where she practically kidnaped the eldest Nightengale sibling to a week long debauchery in Vegas. It was the whole shebang, drinking, strip clubs, tattoos ...Melody had been completely sober on that specific event... and even being handed cards for, "Midnight Pleasures from Mistress Bambi." To this day Melody could only imagine the cute little deer from that Disney film and needless to say back then in her drunken stupor those images were not nearly as censored as they were now- she didn't remember anything about that specific night _except_ for those images. That should tell you something.

They were once again low on food, honestly if Melody didn't pester the teen about grocery shopping she was sure they would live off of nothing but Ramen. Which in actuality they still did since ninety percent of the time she could only convince the kunoichi into buying Ramen related ingredients due to the promise she made the second day of teaching her how to make it herself. Pouring herself a glass of water Kushina walked them over to the table full of seals and notes.

She was quite pleased with what she was able to remember from her other life. Noted they were not fully complete and instead of focussing on the information about the up-and-coming Nine-Tail Attack she worked more on the memories that would leave her first. Things that didn't hold her interest such as the Fourth Shinobi War and well just about **everything** after Naruto had left with Jiraiya. The problem was that since she had joined the military about the time when the Time-Skip became a big thing...and she had read ahead to Pein bringing everyone back… then Kabuto, _or had it that actually been Orochimaru,_ she had called it quits and only watched/read things that had to deal with Naruto's parents and the current war she found herself in.

She didn't regret any of that back there- she had waited **ALL** that time for them to get around to this time era. Now though, she was a tad bit worried about her lack of content the further out she got. _I suppose you could always trust Hindsight to make you realize just how much of an idjit you were before._ The Soldier thought with a sigh as she set the scroll down. _But it's better than nothing, and heaven knows that I have relived everything I know about this war for years._ She paused and scanned over the papers. _Ya know, I wonder if knowing everyone's birthday would help. I mean I know all the important ones: Kakashi's, Kushina's, Minato's, Naruto's, Jiraiya's, Tsunade's._ She shrugged, _Eh, can't do anything about it now and I am_ _sure_ _word will get out._ The kunoichi shivered at the thought. _Not exactly something that was my bucket list either though._ Her hand fell absently on their flat well toned stomach, _I suppose I have about ten years to get over that-_ Violet eyes widened in realization as a grin slowly spread its way across Kushina's lips in a very un-Kushina fashion. _Ten-ish years to come up with the perfect pranks. Oh-ho Challenge Accepted._

* * *

The days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The next thing Kushina knew the two of them had known each other for half the year. Now Melody was a bit more comfortable showing Kushina some more personal things than originally though she had yet to have learned the brunettes only **two regrets** of that life. In return, Melody would ask her about her life in Uzushiogakure and her clan.

This typically occurred when they were studying Fūinjutsu, something that much to Kushina's amazement Melody was picking up on real quick.

 _"I knew a lot of different languages in my life, 'shina. I made it my business to know because I enjoyed being able to talk and relate with other people. To understand them," She smiled looking up from her scroll her brown eyes sparkling with life. "I didn't like the idea of going in somewhere and having a language barrier."_

 _"But this isn't a language."_

 _"Isn't it? You have different pieces that mean different things. You add certain pieces a certain way to give it a specific meaning. You place these pieces in a certain order. You add a certain amount of emphasis to change the meaning. That sounds an awful lot like grammar and vocabulary and linguistics to me." Kushina nodded._

 _"_ _But didn't that take you years? Each? I mean you are understanding some of this quicker than I am." She added, "If I didn't know any better I would think you were an Uzumaki."_

 _"Aren't I?" Kushina chucked a blank scroll at her and they laughed. "Remember when I showed you two of the languages I learned. Remember what I said? If I am **interested** in it I learn **quicker**. That much is true for almost everyone. Kushina I have been interested in this for years and I have a great teacher." Kushina blushed at that and they went back to studying. _

* * *

"Am the only one with a bad feeling about this whole mission?" Kushina voiced both her own and Melody's thoughts. Originally, before Melody, Eiji-sensei cared little for the only female on the team. Kushina was surprised at the lack of response toward their treatment from Melody the first month back and only when she brought up that did the elder explain to her that perhaps their sensei had some sort of reasoning behind his displeasure for practically every kunoichi they had ever seen him with. She had speculated that perhaps sometime during his time as a lower-level shinobi a kunoichi failed his team...the brunette had continued to mumble things to herself before explaining that they would simply have to prove their competency and ability to him.

Now Kushina wasn't sure whether these words of wisdom were spoken truthfully or another one of Melody's schemes to motivate her into studying. Either way it worked and she had a feeling it wasn't the first time Melody had dealt with something like this.

Now the four of them were walking with a client on their way cross country to one some land that they -being the lower ninja- had no need to know the name of. _If there is one thing I will forever stand by, it is that there is no such thing as a 'simple C-rank mission'_ Melody grumbled mentally as they took point, another thing the elder was not too fond of.

Their comments had been ignored even after the client flinched a little. The lack of response from that reaction sent the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at end, a classic sign that something rubbed Melody the wrong way. It was her _instinct,_ or so she called it.

That was enough for the kunoichi to sit down and think over everything that they did know. Their client was in his thirties, some sort of noble of this place they were given no information about. Melody had pointed out that he was far too situationally aware the moment he commented that he hadn't seen anyone else in the village with her hair. He also had a thing for trying to walk up and talk to her and what conversation she did pick up when he spoke to her teammates, Akihiro and Manabu, they seemed a little too invasive. Don't even get her started on how the guy was handsy. Seriously it took everything in her to keep Melody's growls from echoing in her own throat. There was also the fact that their formation didn't make sense no matter how you look at it. She was point, a position she proved time and time again -a problem Melody even had in her life- was a bad idea. Sure technically if she were to go all out, this wouldn't be a problem but that would be breaking one of the big rules they had made. Typically Manabu, their Taijutsu expert, was at point but he was in the rear. Hell it made more sense for him to be with the client if they were going for the defensive route and having Eiji-sensei who was with the client covering their rear flank. Akihiro, who was by far the "most skilled" out of the three of them was a couple paces behind her. Not a bad position, no but not the best either. None of this made any sense!

 _Remember everything that I have taught you and that we have learned together._ Melody replied from the confines of their mind _,_ _We both know that I can't take over if things hit the fan and furball is out of the question._ Kushina gulped slightly regretting the promise that Melody had made with the Hokage when they had woken up from their self-induced coma after she had arrived.

"We are going to set up camp here!" Eiji-sensei called from behind her. "Kushina go asecure the perimeter."

"Hai!" As she ran off into the forest she heard Akihiro voice his opinion on sending her out, she paid no mind to it but was sure it followed the lines of 'Sensei, everyone knows I am the best tracker.' Sometimes she seriously wanted to punch the plum-haired shinobi to wherever this Timbuktu place Melody always mumbled about.

"Well, it looks clear." Kushina thought aloud as she circled back to where she had originally run off to. _But seriously can you at least help out here?_ Melody remained silent within the confines of their mind. Play _lookout,_ Kushina added _it's not that I don't trust my team._

"But I don't," Melody replied leaning back against the tree in front of Kushina when the smoke cleared. "Nous savons tous deux qu'il se passe quelque chose ici." Kushina nodded and handed her a scroll, "I stand by my earlier statement. I will not intervene." The not-quite-a-clone bit her finger and unsealed the scroll before proceeding to change into her uniform. "L'Hokage n'est pas au courant que nous pouvons le faire." She motioned between the two of them as she continued to speak in the only language Kushina was able to pick up quickly: French. "Nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre des erreurs."

"Hai." Doe brown eyes bore into Kushina's violet from as the scroll was returned to her with a different set of clothes sealed within them. Knowing that Melody was going to be nearby was enough to calm Kushina's speeding heart. The kunoichi was a natural and had been the deciding factor in the Third's ruling; while the old man wasn't technically wrong when he believed it was Kushina he was working with... he wasn't exactly right either. Melody explained that she had a decade to understand the theory of chakra in her world and their body would take time to adapt to what her mind was used to performing at. Kushina hadn't quite realized what a great asset Melody was until recently, but the brunette stuck by her word. "Le sous-estimés candidate est un dangereux candidat."

"And we know exactly what is at risk." The brunette finished by throwing her waist length hair in a tight bun. "Now scat cat." With that Kushina was off running back toward the camp, not at all surprised to find that the client had some expensive tent set up.

"All clear sensei." Eiji looked up at her from his position next to the tent and nodded before returning to carving up a piece of wood. "You've got

"You've got second watch, I suggest you get to sleep early." Kushina didn't know how to explain it, other than he sounded _off._ A quick look up told anyone that the sun was on the verge of setting, the sky was painted in beautiful hues of oranges and yellow, Akihiro seemed to be on first watch if his position on the branch was any indication. "Sadoa offered his tent to anyone not on shift."

"Thanks but no thanks." She quickly declined as she made her way over to the tree Akihiro was on before laying down. Even though Melody's mind was elsewhere she could practically hear the woman's snarky remarks about perverts and tactical inefficiency. It took a couple of minutes but finally Kushina settled her mind down enough to begin to doze off. And of course, this would be the time when a familiar voice whispered a final response.

 _"And there better be_ bodies and lots of blood."

* * *

 **Notes:**

I would like to thank the Guest who left me a Review! It is much appreciated!

It happened again! I finished typing this up two hours ago and was on this portion when my computer reloaded the page. I think it's time I looked into a new computer.

But here it posted on the final day of my updating window. Hope you enjoyed and I shall see you next week

 _Translations: _

_"Nous savons tous deux qu'il se passe quelque chose ici."_ \- We both know something is going on here.

 _"L'Hokage n'est pas au courant que nous pouvons le faire."_ \- The Hokage is unaware that we can do this.

 _"Nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre des erreurs,"_ \- We cannot afford mistakes.

 **Updated 091215**


	5. Chapter 4

**Authors Note:** I realize this is late, but once again I was uploading the chapter and my internet closed out on me before I could save it…. that was on the second and I practically rolled over and chucked my mouse at the wall before storming off to retreat into Inquisition for hours...

I do promise to put up an extra chapter this week for this delay.

Please, enjoy.

* * *

When she had originally been bombarded with the smell of Iron, Kushina had originally thought that they were under attack and because of that the kunoichi jumped up from the position she took under the tree after her watch only to find that nothing seemed out of place and the sun was on the verge of rising. The next logical explanation was that perhaps Melody had gotten into a scuttle and had brought along a new batch of memories. A quick check verified that the soldier, in fact, had returned, but her memories were about as _painfully_ uneventful as her own time during guard duty. _I would still be out there, you know._ The brunette grumbled from the confines of their minds. _Had you not just **forced** me back._

 _Forced you?_ The teen was a little confused, in the time since they had figured out that Melody could occupy a clone they had tried to see if it was possible for the Soldier to be brought back by Kushina. The two had tried just about everything before the brunette had begun mumbling... Kushina didn't pay too much attention to the woman when she began thinking to herself.

 _I don't know what you did, but I was rudely interrupted from my own musings and found myself back here._

The fact was that his little incident happened a couple of days ago and yet to this day Kushina found herself waking up to a stronger scent of blood bothered the both of them. Or at least Kushina thought it bothered the Soldier, she had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the mission since then. Going as far as to not even acknowledge her when she mentally spoke out to her.

Kushina didn't want to admit it, but that lack of communication felt her feeling completely _isolated_ and _lonely_.

But the mission must go on.

* * *

"How long do you think they are going to be in there?" Manabu asked as he walked up to her, Kushina couldn't help but shrug. Their guess was as best as hers at this point, until her twenty-fourth birthday Melody knew next near to nothing about what exactly she would have been doing...even after Minato apparently picked up a squad of his own. There was also the fact that the woman was still not answering her, seriously they had been sitting out here for a while since their sensei left with Saodo to that hut. What was she supposed to do?

"I don't know any more than you guys do about this mission." She answered honestly as she shifted all her weight to her right leg and crossed her arms.

"Yet you don't trust Saodo… or Eiji-sensei." She could hear the emotions behind that one statement. He was confused, worried and pissed about that single fact all at once.

"I understand that you trust Eiji-sensei." The redhead started as she looked past him and at the hut. "I just refuse to blindly trust people, especially those that had done nothing but hindered and belittled me for the majority of the time I had spent with them." Bullies, she absolutely abhorred them.

"He was training you." Akihiro interrupted.

"Being hospitalized a couple of times a year because of training is normal...expected even. You can not honestly tell me to my face that you believe that hell I went through was training and if so, why in Kami's name neither of you were even hospitalized? I am convinced that he was trying to kill me, or end my shinobi career."

"Kunoichi."

"No, Shinobi. I am under the impression that everyone out here is defending the village with their lives. Just because a small fraction of us are females doesn't mean we are doing that any differently. But that's an argument for another time. Manabu I was hospitalized for a week straight once! A week! And not only did no one question it but the moment I was back on my feet I was right back in the hospital." Kushina couldn't tell you how many times she imagined herself watching the life fade out of that man's eyes as she strangled him. "I respect his position in our ranks and the Hokage's trust in him. But I do not trust him as a person and there is nothing the either of you can do to make me change my mind." Sure she was the Kyuubi's jinchūriki and she was an Uzumaki on top of that, but his training methods were brutal and obviously more so when it came to her. Don't even get her started on how neither of them came to visit her during that time.

What bothered her most was that she wasn't too sure if those were her own thoughts, Melody's, the Kyuubi's or some twisted mixture of the three.

"-So-thing's wrong!" The immediate area they were in was covered in light blue smoke, Kushina was back to back with her companions with a kunai. Melody's sudden mental warning still ringing in her ears.

"Who are you and where did you come from?" Akihiro demanded as the area slowly cleared and a familiar brunette stood in front of them. Kushina was surprised, how exactly Melody had managed a Bushin so suddenly _intrigued_ her. Why she had done so **frightened** her. It was so sudden that her mental companion was in nothing more than a simple white tunic and she looked cross.

" **Days**?! You didn't notice and I had to fight through hell for days to tell you myself!" Kushina cringed, she was definitely pissed her hair was doing that thing where it looked more like a frazzled mane than curls."The three of you. Need. To. Wake. Up." With every word, a rock was chucked at them each one growing in size. "They locked me up!" She seethed, "Or better yet, they tried to get to Fido and I had to lock myself up **with** him. Do you know how bloody annoying that git is?" Easily catching on Kushina and Akihiro shot their hands into the proper position.

"Kai!"

* * *

The scene was much too familiar for the teens liking, she found herself once again tied up in the middle of the night with no idea where she was. The only difference this time was that her hands were tied with her other two companions, she recognized her captures and the moon wasn't full.

"W-what! How did you-" Saodo blanched and he had reason to; Genjutsu had _never_ been her specialty. She had always been a bit slow about realizing she was in one, something that apparently _hadn't_ changed, and also had issues getting out of them. Luckily Melody wasn't exactly a stickler for rules. When something didn't work she found other means of getting things done. She had only said it once, but the words still echoed in her mind.

 _"I never cared much to appreciating doors that stood between me and my mission. I don't think the wolf did either, so I suppose I can relate most with him. Look if I had a straw house I threw an explosive at it. Was it made of wood? I threw little more. Metal, I covered it in explosive. Why? Because it was in my way and keeping me from protecting my comrades and doing my job. 'Shina you have a seemingly unlimited amount of explosive. You don't even have to worry about running out. So the way I look at it, knock them off their feet."_

The client in question looked over to their sensei who looked more impressed than anything else and it didn't take long for her to realize just what was different about him. "You snake!" She attempted to charge at him and in response the wrappings around her wrists grew uncomfortably tight. If the grunts from the other two were any indication, she wasn't alone in that punishment.

"I'm sure Orochimaru wouldn't appreciate that usage of his beloved summoning," Eiji replied with a smirk as he twirled a kunai around his finger, "Now shut up and everyone gets to live." _Well, that was very... generic._ Kushina thought.

"Eiji-sensei!"

"Idiot look at his headband," Akihiro growled, "He's a traitor and spy." His own eyes never leaving the traitors, "You're going to die for this."

"For what? I haven't done anything wrong...yet." Kushina growled and pulled against the restraints again. "You really think you are important, don't you?" The now-blond shinobi laughed, "Oh no. Your village isn't going to miss the two of you." Kushina cursed herself for allowing others to get dragged into this. "But you wouldn't know why not, now would they Kushina?" She could feel the both of them shift to look at her.

"Shut up!"

"You see our precious Uzumaki survivor has been keeping a big dark fury secret from you." He laughed, "A secret that would forever change how everyone viewed her."

The kunoichi wanted nothing more than to live out her earlier mentioned dream as her violet eyes met green and she had half the mind to do just that.

 _Mel's I could really use your help right now…_

* * *

 **"The moment I break free from these chains I am going to destroy everything you have ever cared for."**

"I have twenty-eight years of wisdom rolling around in this head of hers, an unhealthy portion of it are annoying ass songs I still can't seem to get out of my mind," Melody grumbled as she kept her back to the chained beast. She felt as much a prisoner in their mind now as he, being completely disconnected from the outside world now.

 **"First I will find those two teammates of yours and snap their necks."**

" _Seriously_ , I am **not** above stooping to that level…" The brunette warned growing more and more annoyed as the beast continued raging, she couldn't tell you how many of his little scenarios she had sat through by now.

 **"There is a whole village of people you care deeply for, perhaps I will find that lazy shinobi who knows too much for his own good and break every bone in his body. Listening to his screams and pleas for his friend to stop."**

"This is your final warning," Melody growled in warning.

 **"Then I will find that black haired friend of yours. I will corner her and then rip her skin right off of her with your own two hands."**

"Dog goes woof, cat goes meow…" It was a whisper, she was hoping to catch his attention by doing so. Make him wonder just what exactly she was mumbling, but instead he continued his rant.

 **"Next I will find that _white haired_ man you absolutely adore." ** She could practically hear his glee when she tensed, but she continued interrupting her voice just below a normal speaking level.

"Bird goes tweet, and mouse goes squeak." The King of the Tailed Beasts didn't even bat an eyelash from his surely uncomfortable position.

 **"They call him what, _White Fang?_ I wonder how he will taste between mine."** The Soldier was still sitting cross-legged with her back to the demon up until this point with her arms crossed. Now out of pure annoyance she slowly turned to where she could see him and glared as she continued unwilling to back down.

"Cow goes moo. Frog goes croak, and the elephant goes toot." They locked eyes and she knew she had his attention now, but the gleam in his eye sent shivers down her spine.

 **"Last but not least after I have destroyed your village and everyone you two hold dear. I will break your heart!"**

"Ducks say quack and fish go blub, and the seal goes OW OW OW." The woman was now standing and facing the beast. She would deal with just about anything, she could deal with the fact that she had apparently woken up in this world as her idol. She learned how to deal with sharing a mind and had even taken some of the teens own traits in the short amount of time they have been together.

 **"The _blond_ one shall stand before me. No-you! He will look at you with those cerulean blue eyes that make your heart flutter. Pleading cerulean blue eyes wondering why?"** This was without a doubt going to put a hamper on befriending the annoying Tailed Beast in the near future. But frankly as far as she was concerned he had brought it upon himself...and she had tried to warn him.

"But there's one sound that no one knows…" Now Melody was walking toward her fellow prisoner. She could feel his annoyance and anger towards her rolling off of him in waves. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and crawl into a corner. But she was still Melody freaking Nightengale...

 _And Nobody fucked with her family.  
Past,  
Present,  
or Future._

"WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?!"

* * *

"Finding your head a little more quieter than usual?" Sadoa interrupted, "I am sure you have found that your companions are both out of reach." The kunoichi scowled as the plump man spoke, "Don't get me wrong the feisty defensive mechanism of yours put up quite the fight- I might even say she would have succeeded in pushing me out… Had she not realized what my true intentions were and hid away with my prize."

"Eiji-sensei why?" Sometimes she wondered if Manabu should truly be a shinobi. His greatest strength was that he cared, but at the same time that could very well be his own undoing. Just look at where that got Mels.

"Your Eiji-sensei has been dead-" Kushina could hear Manabu gasp, "For months. Did you know his final words were an apology for you three? It was an easy transition really, no one truly knew how Eiji would react to the outside world… seeing as he hasn't been a member of it for years. No one truly questioned anything I did. No, everyone was much too busy with their own business. And to think that the Anbu I killed happened to be the shinobi who was to be the sensei of my target." His green eyes landed on her.

Kushina couldn't help it… she gulped. This was so far above them, they had been unknowingly not only feeding the enemy information but making his job that much better...that much easier. If their most elite didn't catch it, how were they to have known? They were Genin! New shinobi who didn't know the dangers of the world they were stepping into. They were taught to trust their sensei, never once had anything like this been taught in the academy! Her mind began to wander into darker areas. Or had this been the plan all along?

* * *

 **Ending Notes:** I am pretty sure I changed the clients name a couple of times through this chapter. Shows how much I care for him, anyway no worries after this little arc there will be a time jump. I'm still working out how I want to work this.  
Thanks for reading!

 **Updated 091215**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** So here is the next chapter on time, hopefully, I will have the following up within the next twenty-four hours. Honestly, there shouldn't be a problem with that, let us just hope I can squeeze out something interesting without rushing through this.

* * *

"Seriously, is this not rubbing anyone else the wrong way?" The recently promoted Sergeant voiced as they exited the briefing room. "The hairs on the back of my neck are literally standing up on end." She added rubbing the mentioned area with her free hand.

"You're just freaking out over all of this," A hazel-eyed Corporal laughed as he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'd think you would be over the anxiety with how well you did the last few times we went out." Doe-brown eyes narrowed as she shrugged off his hand.

"Complacency kills Corporal." A deep soothing voice replied from behind them, both soldiers looked back at their Team Leader. "I can't tell you how many times someone's gut feeling has either been the reason why the whole team made it out alive, or could have been..." Both the Corporal and recently promoted Sergeant frowned. Both of their transfers were not exactly clean. Jackson had joked earlier that he and Dickinson were the only two original members of the team and their sister team had only their Team Leader Sergeant Aurora that had been there since the beginning. "It is not something to take lightly."

"I swear everyone runs to your defense 'Gale." Doe-brown eyes shot away from their leader and glared at her friend once more.

"Shut up Baker." With that, she hit him upside the dome and range-walked to catch up with the bulk of the squad. Her mind running through the brief once more.

The enemy had gained a lot of ground in recent months and it seemed that with each day they picked up more and more speed in doing so. They had pulled out of this country not too long ago and practically watched as it went up in flames. Just like before the newest group being more violent than the last.

They had no choice but to go back.

Enemy forces had just taken an area less than a hundred miles from their Forward Operating Base, they had gone from the least mortared FOB to the most in three days. It was up to Fox Company to push back their lines and regain control in nearby areas. First platoon was heading out east and Second platoon was heading out west both to try and flank the enemy and catch them off-guard. Third Platoon comprised of their armored cavalry. Then there was good o Fourth Platoon, leading the bulk of the charge. Or as she liked to say, playing decoy.

Foxtrot wasn't exactly your usual Company, no, they were the Company thrown together who had people who were specialized in very specific things. They were typically the ones you called on when you needed a specific job done quickly and effectively. Unfortunately with Echo Company, their main ground force, out of reach out of the wire and frankly compromised themselves that meant that their Company was going to have to make do and fall back on what they were trained and if all else failed, improvise like a motherfucker.

To put it frankly, it sounded a like a shite storm in the making to SGT Nightingale, she didn't like _anything_ about this plan.

But they had been given their orders and she knew that Staff Sergeant Wolfe would do his damn best to get them out of there alive given their left and right posts. The only thing any of them could do was make the best out of what they were dealt and hope they made it all out alive.

"Hey, Doc!" Shaken from her thoughts SGT Nightingale looked up to the gray-eyed private who was waving his hand in front of her. She smirked and swiped his hand away as she spoke.

"How many times to I got to tell ya, I ain't no doctor Smith." Gray eyes twinkled mischievously in response and a smirk slowly spread across his own features.

"You've brought us all back every time you have gone out with us, even when you were part of Echo last year...when you weren't even a Whiskey," Smith replied as his brow arched, "You cut into Dexter back then and earned yourself a ticket back to the states for some crash medical-on-crack course. From what I hear that wasn't the first time either, doc. Your reputation precedes you,"

"They taught me how to keep you alive, that doesn't make me a doctor." She joked, "I don't even do any meatball surgery if I can help it."

"But you can…."

"To the most minor degree."

"Take the fucking compliment, Sergeant." Wolfe laughed as they hung around for the vehicles to make their way to them. Nightingale grumbled and readjusted her assault pack in response. "Now, are you fully stocked?"

"I'm offended." Nightingale laughed as she threw her shades on, "Ninety percent of everything on me is medical related. You need tourniquets I got em, you need splints I have those too and if needed a damn knife to make some or to play operation on you. My left cargo is filled with enough ripped fabric to fill stomachs if needed. The only things I don't have on me medical related is water, my weapon," She raised the M4 in response, "And the ammunition needed for it."

"And the extra you surely have in your pack." Jackson laughed at Dickinson's reply. If she were a lighter skin the medic would have flushed, but thanks to her mixed ethnicity and the soaring heat, her complexion hadn't changed.

"Oh shush, If I recall correctly you kissed me when we were bogged down and running low on what we left with." The whole squad laughed at that. "As Baker told me earlier Sergeant, I am a Juggernaut of medical aide."

* * *

"Kushina?"

"Melody?" The brunette was looking down worriedly at her companion as violet eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. The Tailed Beast was still roaring about one thing or another in the background, but he was long since forgotten when Melody found the teen laying on the grass meters away.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Suddenly the young kunoichi threw herself up and wrapped her arms around the elder tan skinned soldier. Melody mentally thought of muzzling the tailed beast.

"Mels! You're okay."

"Kushina, what the hell?"

"I need your help." Violet eyes pleaded to doe-brown. "He killed him," The brunette tensed as the violet-eyed redhead balled her eyes out in her stomach.

"He forced Akihiro and Manabu to fight, Mels." Kushina hiccuped clinching the back of the soldiers uniform. "He made him kill him."

"You are going to have use more than pronouns here." Melody chuckled as she pulled the teen back and looked at her companion in the eye. "Who killed who. Who forced whose hands? And what the hell was fat man doing in our mind?" Melody tried her best to ignore the cackling from behind her as Kushina filled her in on what happened since she had last seen her and their comrades.

* * *

"Mels..." The Sergeant in question looked back at her friend. Baker hadn't called her that in what seemed like years… not even when she had helped out Foxtrot years ago. It was sort of an unspoken understand that _if_ their childhood nicknames were used, something was wrong.

And something was indeed very wrong.

They had learned from their earlier invasions, for lack of better word, that when one entered a typically busy area and there was no traffic on the streets at all. Something big was going to go down. Everyone knew that at this point, this wasn't their first time around the track and the tension in the HUMWV tightened tenfold. "I got you covered Seb."

There was an annoying ringing in her ears, it was ten times worse than when one forget to throw on Ear Protection on before firing at the range. Adrenaline kicked in as her vision cleared and her mind began piecing things together. One moment she was looking back at her childhood friend offering him a small smile to ease his nerves as they entered what seemed to be a completely empty town, a tell-tale sign that one was driving into an ambush.

The next couple of chunks of memory flickered like still-frames behind her eyes every time she closed her eyes to blink while reloading. The first was complete blackness and the unforgiving smell of gas. Next she was looking up, or what she thought was up into a pair of familiar hazel eyes a hand reached out. She vaguely remembered shaking her head. Hazel eyes stilled and hardened over then looked over to where she was apparently pointing, he wasn't happy… she could tell, but he did as he was told.

The ringing in her ears quickly stopped as she peeked over her cover and fired downrange. The familiar and reassuring woodpecker sounds of the M240 blasted her eardrums in bursts of six. She heard her own one-two, one-two-three bursts twice before everything went silent. Emptying her clip to provide covering fire for their sister team to get to higher ground, the medic only realized that she was out when Jeremy hadn't provided any recoil.

She saw her gloved hands in front of her as she made an attempt to pull herself out of the wreckage. Another blink and she was looking down at her ankle, it had gotten tangled in the wires that were now mangled in where her foot space had been. The sounds of a firefight slowly came back to her as her heart frantically beat in her eardrums at the thought of being electrocuted.

"MEDIC!"

Nightingale looked up and over to Jackson and his M240 when she saw that he was still firing and she wasn't hearing anything she shook her head and covered him as he reloaded. An M4 firing downrange wasn't nearly as frightening as the M240 SAW, but it got the job done and within a matter of what seemed like minutes Jackson was back up raining hell upon the enemy. Or at least in their direction.

* * *

"This is so far above us Mels." The brunette bit her lower lip, "I wouldn't ask you." The kunoichi paused, "You know I wouldn't ask you if I could help it." Melody held her red-haired friend close unknowingly digging her gloved hands into the fabric of her clothing. "He's dead Mels. There was no way that his Taijutsu was on par..." The kunoichi shivered, "Eiji-sensei. He was in the Anbu." The soldier stilled at that new piece of information. "They killed him months ago before you showed up."

"What happened to your first sensei, Kushina?" Melody had little to no information on her childhood, on what exactly she had done aside of those few scenes offered to her in a different world.

"Nobody knows. He just went missing one day." Kushina replied as her legs gave out from under her. Melody slowly brought the kunoichi to the ground, "We trained with Jiraiya-sensei's team for a bit. Then Eiji showed up and then you." Melody racked her mind for anytime Jiraiya or anyone else may have let that little piece of information slip.

She came up with nothing.

"You know if I do this now there may be no way for me to block out these memories." She whispered, "You're too emotionally attached right now and knocking you out would leave you in a vulnerable position."

"Us."

"Right." Melody smiled.

"I don't understand why you hide that from me."

"You're still a child." The soldier answered honestly, "I don't want you to have to grow up too fast and if there is anything I can do to prevent that I will."

"We're at war." The soldier frowned at that statement, "I'm a shinobi." Kushina's eyes began to droop and she yawned, "W-what are you doing?"

"Kushina, forgive me."

* * *

Had Jackson not come around and tapped her on the shoulder she wouldn't have known the fighting had stopped. He must have known that her ears were blown because after they had all gathered around he had grabbed her chin and shifted her head to look at both her ears. Nightingale didn't need to hear him in order to know that the next word out of his mouth was: "Shit." When you lived with people for months on end, you caught onto their tendencies.

When she was free from his grasp the medic made her rounds with the rest of their Team, unable to hear anything that they were talking about. Jackson was her first stop, aside of a couple of bruises and scrapes he was fine. She didn't bother wasting any supplies on him choosing instead to slap some dirt onto his scraps to stop the oozing. SPC Dickinson was up next, he was sitting behind her when shite apparently hit the fan and was a bit more beat up than Jackson. She had noticed him favoring his leg somewhere in her hazy memories. Given their location and their most recent encounter with the not-so-friendly locals, she could only offer him a frown of apology when she tapped his boot. She couldn't risk removing it here if it was broken the boot would keep the pieces together. Her next stop had originally been Baker but he pushed her toward Smith, she rolled her eyes and went over to the PV2. Out of everyone he had the highest chance of being the worst hit and she beat herself up for not remembering that sooner. He was the Gunner the chances of him breaking something from that rollover were greater than anyone else in that vehicle.

Or at least she thought it was a rollover. With her lack of hearing, she would have to ask later.

Luckily the nineteen-year-old looked like he hadn't even been scratched. "You lucky son of a bitch. You got some sort of shields we don't know about!" SGT Nightingale couldn't tell how loud she was speaking and it was the oddest feeling...being unable to hear oneself as they spoke. It gave her the heebie-jeebies. "Baker! Come on down!" Judging by how Smith winced the SGT guessed that she was unintentionally speaking louder, a quick apology was -what she hoped- muttered just as the Corporal in question walked up.

The next thing she knew she was eating dirt and her M4 had pinned her firing hand between it and the ground.

* * *

"Good job, Akihiro." A familiar voice greeted her as she slowly began to come to. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. You have always been the most promising. You should have been the one with the demon sealed within, not that pathetic excuse for a kunoichi."

"S-Shinobi." She coughed as she brought her arm up to prop herself off the ground.

"You don't know when to give up."

"Stubborn, enduring, resolute, persistent." The kunoichi grinned, "Yeah that's her alright." She mumbled to herself as she stood up and held what she was sure was a broken arm. A quick glance around told her everything she needed to know; Akihiro's eyes were just about the only thing he had control over. She could see the pain behind his usual stoic eyes, he didn't want to do this and was obvious scared by what he had just done.

"Just stay down, idiot." _Apparently you have control of that yap of yours as well._ A second later there was a clone next to her and she watched him as she had the clone snap her arm back in place with a sickening crack. It wasn't perfect and wouldn't be of as much use as her other arm, but at least her Uzumaki blood could jump-start the healing process.

Cold violet eyes scanned the rest of the field. To her far left there was what she could only guess was the source of the burnt scent in the air... If the odd shape was any indication Manabu was not only burnt to a crisp but Akihiro was forced to mangle his teammate as well. _This kids gonna be fucked up._ Violet eyes closed for a moment as she took in a long deep breath, she was sure now more than ever that she had done the right thing.

"I suppose you would take on a puppet to fight when you are as large as a boulder." She smirked taking a look at some of the traps her other half had managed to throw down. "Reading his mind as well I would assume." She rolled out her shoulder, her voice was much more confident than it had ever been when she was with her team. Akihiro seemed to have noticed as well if his expression were any indication. "That isn't going to do you any good from this point onward."

"Cocky little shit."

Akihiro's skin crawled at the way those violet eyes gleamed.

* * *

 **Ending Notes:**

I had to do this in a very Naruto-fashion. I would apologize, but I am going, to be honest, I wouldn't mean it. Just imagine me cackling like a loon, that's a pretty avid description of how that happened.

 **Updated 091215**


	7. Chapter 6

"I like it here…" Doe-brown eyes looked down at violet. "I mean aside of grouchy pants it's not a bad place." The kunoichi shrugged, amusement tickled the soldiers face as she smirked and held a brow up.

"Grouchy pants?"

"I'd say something else but being hit here hurts as much as it does out there." The kunoichi pouted. "But is it really alright to do this?" Melody titled her head to the side a bit, her way of encouraging the other to elaborate. "Stay hidden away in here. I can hear the whispers, ya know."

"Would you like me to put up a stronger barrier?" Red hair swayed left and right in response.

"No, it's refreshing in a sense."

"I am definitely rubbing off on you." The two sat in the fields enjoying the tranquility.

* * *

"Are you positive you can handle this?" A nod was all the Hokage got in response from the two kunoichi in the room. "It's quite dangerous running around with no real purpose in today's environment."

"I won't get hurt nor will I run out of reserves. I can keep her running around for patrols and surveillance, I won't even notice she's gone unless something happens to her."

"Her?"

"It gets too confusing thinking of her as me, ya know." The redhead frowned, "Plus as time progresses I can easily just send her out and maintain a presence here as I am."

"Boss figures it would cause a less headache later on for the both of you." The brunette replied, "I frankly am going to have to agree with her about it."

"It would seem your mastery on this skill is getting stronger each day, Kushina-chan." The redhead scrunched her nose at the honorific but nodded. "I shall allow it-"

"Yatta!"

"On two conditions." The kunoichi paused her celebration mid-cheer. "The first being that your clone is to send in a daily report even if nothing was found, she is not to engage with any combatants unless innocents or our forces will suffer a loss of life." The two nodded, "The second being that if she is ambushed and dispersed you are to report to me in person right away, no matter the time, and inform me of anything that happened after the prior note was sent."

"Would you like the messages encoded and sealed or simply sealed Hokage-sama?" Two pairs of eyes turned to the brunette, "I believe seals would be enough, there aren't too many seals masters out in the world...saying Boss's clan survivors haven't chosen sides." There was a pause before she continued, "Though adding a bit of encoding that Boss has created wouldn't hurt though I doubt she would want anyone but herself to decrypt it." Kushina didn't like the twinkle in those doe brown eyes.

She didn't like it one bit.

"Encoding?"

"It's just another safety precaution I read about in one of my books." She quickly covered, "I've been creating my own little coding of sorts to keep unwanted persons from obtaining any information in the notes I carry around on a day-to-day that pertain to my seals.

"How long would it take you to decrypt a message." Unfortunately, the brunette beat Kushina to the punch.

"It shouldn't take her but an hour tops. I can even add a precursor line if there is anything urgent and keep those short and simple."

"You're clone has a mind of her own."

"It's quite annoying having a piece of yourself shown to the world." Kushina sighed, "But I have no doubt that she will be able to complete the mission without a hitch."

"A name would be rather nice than being referred to in the third person, ya know."

"If possible and to cause the least amount of suspicion we'll continue to use your other alias when referring to your clone." The brunette rolled her eyes, as Kushina nodded. "Now that that is settled, you are to head out in one hour to start your patrols around the land of fire." He looked between the kunoichi and her clone there was a look in his eye that sent shivers down both their backs. "Dismissed."

"Hai."

* * *

"When are you coming back?" Brown brows knitted together to accompany the frown. "I know that this will help us in the long run…" Unable to help herself the soldier smirked dropping her previous expression and glanced over at the kunoichi.

"Does someone miss me?" Kushina's back straightened.

"Noo. Where are you?" She deflected.

"Hmmm. Here and there." The soldier replied waving her wrist flippantly.

"You're no fun, ya know."

"If I told you, you'd try and find me."

"Not the point."

"How's the gang doing?" That seemed to lighten the Uzumaki up, whether she knew it or not Melody instantly saw her eyes brighten and her typical smile graced her features.

"You're missing the Chunin Exams, ya know." That earned the soldiers complete and undivided attention.

"You're holding them even while we are at war?" The light brown skinned soldier seemed genuinely surprised and Kushina frowned barely hearing the mumbled. "I suppose that's what Shishou was complaining about."

"Apparently you are more out of the loop than I thought. We haven't been at war for about a year now, Mels. What are you doing to not know something like that." The soldier merely continued to look out at the peaceful scenery.

"I should be back with you in about a month or so according to the boss." Kushina smiled at that and refrained from hugging her second half. "How's your seals mastering going? Jiraiya helping at all?" In response, Kushina's nose was scrunched up in disgust.

"Minato's sensei? I wouldn't let him near me with a ten-foot pole."The soldier chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Please tell me you have more control over that than in here."

"Over what?"

"My phrases." The redhead merely shrugged as she lay flat on her back her hair sprawled around her parting in nine familiar pieces. "Speaking of which how has furball been?"

"I've been meaning to ask about that actually." The kunoichi sat up and looked back at the quiet Tailed Beast. "Did you do something about a year or so ago? He's been quiet as of late."

* * *

"Hey! Kurama!" Melody hollered as she closed the distance between herself and their severely perturbed mind-guest.

 **"Come back to finally free me of this cage. I know what you have done, unlike the idiot I see everything. You can't hide anything from me."**

"Don't make me turn my back on you Kurama. As I am sure you are aware there is no way in the Hokage's name that I am letting you out."

 **"I will break your bones into dust and stomp over everything you care for!"**

"...yet." That seemed to have caught the Beasts attention, "As we are both are aware there is a way for Kushina to loosen the restraints. My being here has already changed quite a bit. Yourself included."

 **"And you believe I would bargain with a hairless ape such as yourself."**

"Who holds the key to those chains? Technically Kushina, but I am a close second." She shrugged, "Get this. You don't like me. I don't like you, but I know who you do and or will hate more in the near future." Their mindscape quickly changed from the peaceful field that a familiar sight that Melody knew she couldn't completely prevent but perhaps change the outcome to.

 **"Impossible."**

"We both know better." Melody sighed, "And frankly we are the best shot you have at stopping any of that from happening." Her gaze darkened, "I already felt the change in your mood when you witnessed those eyes Kurama. We both know how dangerous that kind of power is and whether you like it or not Kushina and I know more about you than possibly anyone aside of our...her son ever will."

 **"And you want to strike a deal with The Big Bad Fox."** She didn't want to tell you how weird it was for _him_ of all beings to use phrases from her memories.

"As I said you are already much different than the fox we were watching. You're much more like the older you. We can skip all this nonsense, skip the anger, the killer threats move past that and work towards something indefinitely better. Frankly Kurama, I doubt you will find a long-term investment plan better than this."

* * *

"I may have spoken with him." Melody replied carefully after a moment of silence. "I believe we have reached a compromise of sorts. You needn't bother yourself with it."

"Needn't I?" Melody swatted the other upside the head with a smile. "Oi! I didn't deserve that, ya know!"

"Speaking of Minato how is he?" The soldier was looking away from her other half and the moment his name slipped past her lips Kushina was looking the other way blushing.

"He's fine."

"That's good." The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, Kushina looked over at the brunette when a cold wintery breeze swept through their scenery and brought gooseflesh to her skin. "I should get going…" The soldier replied as she stood up, "Use those lungs of yours if you need me."

"Is that a warning of sorts?" The fourteen-year-old asked as she stood up watching the soldier look off into the horizon.

"I wouldn't know." The words were quiet and Kushina almost missed how distant she sounded saying that. "Just keep yourself safe." With that, the soldier was gone and Kushina was left with just the familiar scent of Lilies she had come to miss.

* * *

Kushina grimaced as she looked at the duty roster for the day, she wasn't too sure if she was going to be able to pull this one off. She had only avoided the guy for what, the better part of two years? "Today is not going to be a good day, ya know." She muttered to herself as she made her way to the front gate. Knowing full well how boring Guard detail could be the kunoichi had on her vast amounts of scrolls, ink, and brushes to catch up on her studies. While she didn't know just how far her counterpart had gotten Melody was good at conveying that she would be much too busy to immerse herself into the seals than she had in their first year together. Meaning it was on Kushina to further their knowledge.

"Kushina!" The Chunin paused and looked back at the familiar mop of blond hair that was making its way through the crowded streets. Remembering just how little time she had to get to her post and knowing the person who was going to be there, the kunoichi waved slightly and continued to make her way toward the front gates. "Excuse me, pardon me. Kushina hold on a minute!"

"If I didn't know any better I'd never guess he would become a run-on-sight bookmark in the Bingo Book." The teen mumbled to herself just as the blond caught up, "Took you long enough slow poke."

"Did you not hear me call you?" She spared him a glance before lengthening her stride.

"I've got to be to the main gate in a couple of minutes," She explained, "How was your last mission?"

"Fine. But that's not what I want to talk about." This time violet eyes actually locked with cerulean blue. She did not like what she saw.

"What is it?"

"You still haven't talked about it." The redhead couldn't help but allow the groan to slip past her lips as she quickened her pace once more. "Kushina, everyone is worried."

"I don't see what the problem is, Minato." She spat, "What do you want me to say? I should have died? Manabu should be here with us? Akihiro is a murderer? Or perhaps I shouldn't have defended myself and let them take me." She was still walking but she was sure her hair was doing that thing that everyone had pointed out, "Perhaps I should be locked up and sealed away right now brainwashed into becoming Iwa and Kuro's tool? Should I leave the village and never look back? Perhaps I should just take my own life and take the damn thing with me-" That got a response out of not only the blond but her teammate who was watching with wide eyes as they walked up.

"Kushina! No." He was annoyed she could see it in his eyes, there was that fire burning behind them that seemed to have expanded tenfold. "Don't. You. Ever. Say. That."

"I am about five seconds from swinging Minato, make it quick. And so help the Hokage if you tell me you are here for me again," She let out a deep sigh, "I know and maybe one day I will talk about it. I am sure you already asked Inoichi about it and are aware that I did a damn good job at locking it up and throwing away the key." She shook her wrist free of his grasp she didn't realize he had grabbed. "It's not affecting my career. It's not affecting me. Therefore, it is not a problem."

"It's still not normal to bury everything," Akihiro replied. Kushina spun around so fast her hair was still in full swing when she pointed an accusing finger at him and glared.

"Don't you dare try tag-teaming this! I'll kick your ass to Suna and back at our next training session!" Her teammate smirked and rolled his eyes before sitting back down behind their post. "Now, I have a mission to accomplish and frankly I believe you should be getting some rest after your last mission Minato." The kunoichi turned her attention back to the blond, "If I so much as sense your chakra anywhere but in bed asleep you'll have a one-way trip to the infirmary for an indefinite amount of time."

The blond seemed to pale further under her gaze, or perhaps she may have let a bit more of her killing intent out than intended. Whatever it was Minato was out of their hair in a snap and Kushina was left with one less problem to deal with.

"He only means well."

"I know," She muttered rubbing the bridge of her nose a habit she had picked up from her other half. "He needs to take care of himself before trying to take care of others, ya know?" She looked over at the plum-haired Chunin. "He looked down right run-down. Seriously he is going to be the death of me."

"Would you two just kiss and go out already."

That earned the shinobi a chakra-infused punch to the chest.

* * *

"Maa~ You're just going to have me travel back to the leaf on my own." The two woman were sitting down in the hot springs enjoying their final stay together. "Some people would call that irresponsible, you know?" The brunette was under the water in a splash, barely quick enough to dodge the hot stone thrown at her face. Unfortunately she hadn't quite prepared her lungs quick enough and had managed to send enough water down the wrong tube for her to come up coughing, rock-thrower in question was laughing at this point as the brunette barely made out an audible, "Ruude."

"Still have a mouth on you, don't you." Amber eyes narrowed as she slouched back in the spring enjoying watching the brunette try to clear her airway. It took a moment but finally the hacking seized and she too was leaning back against the spring.

"I take after my Sensei." There was a second splash as another rock was thrown in her direction, this time she managed to keep her airway secured shut and peered over the water at narrowed amber eyes. "Right, right you are only doing this because Hokage-sama asked you to." The brunette replied waving her hand dismissively.

"You're lucky the twerp took a liking to you." Doe-brown eyes smiled as she thought back to her time spent.

"I am in no way trying to replace you," Amber eyes glanced over at the brunette whose eyes held a far more distant look than they ever should have, "Frankly I am just running out of time and in order to keep those I love alive sacrifices must be made. Sacrifices I don't intend on anyone else other than myself take."

* * *

 **Ending Notes:**

If there are any mistakes I am going over it myself after I get some sleep, but feel free to inform me if you find any!

I promise after this the chapters will be less choppy. These sorts of chapters are pretty much the equivalent to filler aside of my obvious filler chapter last episode.

 **Updated 091215**


	8. Chapter 7

"This is…" Kushina eagerly looked over to the brunette with a smile as she waited for her response. "Intense? No….surreal?" Kushina pulled her brows together and frowned she was completely flabbergasted.

"Wait. Why?" Melody turned to face her and Kushina couldn't help but feel like a child under her gaze. It was so easy to forget just how different they were, but that was beside the point. "There is no way that you have had better." Intense and surreal were not words Kushina had every heard when describing what could only be described as heaven. Kushina didn't care how much older Melody was there was no way that anything, in her weird world where they wore questionable uniforms for camouflage, could beat Teuchi's Ramen.

"Huh?" Melody herself seemed to be just as confused, _rightly so._ Thought Kushina just before Melody laughed, "Oh no. This is by far the best Ramen my taste buds have ever had the pleasure of experiencing." Did Kushina forget to mention that Melody sometimes had a weird way of speaking? The fifteen-year-old narrowed her eyes searching for any sign that the brunette was pulling her leg finding, Melody must have seen this and clarified. "I meant walking around Konoha was surreal. It all feels like a dream to me Kushina." Kushina returned to her bowl but glanced over at the brunette as she continued speaking. "It's one thing to imagine all of this, you know. I think everyone wonders just what it would be like to walk down Konoha's streets. I know I had, but to actually pass by the people and see that they are no different from the people back-" Melody paused awkwardly, "Home. It all almost feels like a dream." Melody spun her chopsticks through her bowl, "I am actually afraid I am going to wake up at any moment."

"Oh." She mumbled before slurping up what Ramen she had managed to get into her mouth. "You should have elaborated sooner, ya know." She pointed her chopsticks at Melody, "If you were anyone else I would have dragged you to the hospital." She was finishing her third bowl when she could no longer ignore the feeling of being watched. Sure enough, a pair of doe-brown eyes were staring knowingly at her. "It is either that or turn you into T&I." When Melody still didn't comment Kushina crossed her arms. "What. You're weird."

"Ouch." Melody laughed, "What did you expect though it's not like I am from around here." She defended, "This is all new to me."

"You're not from around here?" Teuchi asked as he dried off a bowl. "Where are you from?" Kushina couldn't help it she tensed at the innocent question and glanced over at the brunette from the safety of her fourth bowl.

There were many things Kushina admired about Melody, it was all funny...even to her. In a way, she had -or would have- been an idol of sorts of Melody and now Melody was an idol for her. She couldn't help it, especially at times like this where she looked so relaxed and natural as she smiled and answered Teuchi's question.

"There was this small fishing town on the outskirts of the Land of Fire." Originally Kushina was skeptical of the woman, she was an unknown and had shown up out of nowhere. For all she knew Melody could have been a creation of the Kyuubi's to try and trick her. That still could be a threat, but with what memories she had witnessed- Kushina couldn't help but hope that Melody was who she projected to be.

"Was?" Melody nodded at the inquiry and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

"It was a beautiful town and I loved it very much. The waters were crystal blue and darkened when a storm was on the horizon. The people were lovely folk and very welcoming." Kushina slowly set her bowl down enthralled by the pure admiration in Melody's voice as she spoke about this town. "There was an inn on the beachline, it had the most brilliant view especially during sunrise and set. I remember sneaking in with my brothers to watch it." Melody laughed, "It was during one of those breaking and enterings when Shishou found us and trained me."

"What made you leave?" Kushina found herself asking before she could stop herself. She was getting better at reading Melody, but she was far from an expert. The now twenty-nine-year-old lifted her head from her palm crossed her arms and frowned.

"It was a tough decision, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity of being trained by an actual shinobi." She let out a sigh, "Our town wasn't well guarded and with the war and the land of waves being somewhat near. It was only a matter of time before we were targeted." Kushina frowned and looked down at her bowl unsure of what to think about what she was told. She knew Melody had to have been telling some truth, the way she spoke about that town was too sincere. "I lost track of time," She laughed, "I learned a lot from Shishou and forgot about that small beautiful town. A couple years ago Shishou brought me here… or rather sent me here." Melody grumbled, "I haven't gotten out much until recently."

"Now that I think about it, you do look familiar. You're Sakumo's new _friend_ are you not?" Teuchi interrupted as he picked up their empty bowls.

"Huh?!" This was news to Kushina, Melody had mentioned nothing about making friends with anyone nevertheless _friends_. Kushina just figured that every time she was out and about it was for another mission or something. _What's this about being 'friends' with Sakumo?! AND WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD OF IT!_

"Oro?" Doe-brown eyes were widened and her head was tilted slightly to the left. The two of them shared a glance before turning back to face Teuchi who merely smiled and continued to dry off some random cup. "T-That's hardly fair," Melody whined, literally whined as she crossed her arms and proceeded to pout. Something that was even foreign to Kushina who had spent the most time around the brunette. "You can't just keep me in suspense like this."

"Wait." Kushina could feel both their glances on her but ignored them as her mind caught up with the information that was just shared. "Sakumo. Like Sakumo Hatake?" She looked incredulously at the brunette. "AS IN KONOHA'S WHITE FANG?!" Melody bounced a look at Teuchi then nodded. "You're THE _Friend_?!" Kushina was not one for gossip, but even she had heard about  this.

"Woah, Woah, Woah. Hold _your_ horses." Melody looked between the both of them. "Why did you say 'friend' like that. It's **just** friend." Kushina couldn't help but giggle a bit at the flustered brunette. "None of this _friend_ stuff." Teuchi too was not expecting that kind of reaction and was trying to hold back a grin of his own.

"Sakumo-sama hardly has friend-friends hime." The owner sagely replied. _Hime_? "You have unintentionally caused a stir within the female population. Apparently there is this exotic foreigner that has been spotted with our one and only White Fang's undivided attention." Melody literally growled at that new piece of information. "It would seem that his appearances at the bar have dropped along with the number of females he has seen leaving them with."

"Sometimes we hit up the bars." Melody offered albeit flustered, "What he does on his off time is his own business." She lamely offered, crossing her arms and nodding her head. "I hardly can see how us hanging out like normal people would cause such a scandal."

"Two years ago?" Kushina had a good idea on what the owner was asking but if Melody's arched brow meant anything it was that she did not.

"Hmm?"

"I am willing to bet that you and our beloved White Fang met about two years ago." Melody bit her lip and Kushina gasped, _she is so her._ A piece of Kushina was ecstatic, it meant that Mels was putting down foundation in the village...but another tad bit louder part of her was upset, wondering how she could hide something like this from her. "You see apparently that's when he started to change and no one thought anything of it-" Teuchi began.

"Until we started hanging out publically later." The brunette rubbed the bridge of her nose, "And people took it upon themselves to start talking. Did anyone not stop to think that maybe, just maybe he was lonely? He was a single parent and a shinobi who had one hell of a reputation." Kushina frowned at tense Melody used, it was about the only way she learned anything about exactly what Melody knew about the people she knew personally. The soldier decided to hide that bit of information as well. "I offered to watch his kid and we become friends. We laugh, we joke and we complain like friends do. That doesn't mean that I am _snogging_ the guy."

"Snogging?" Kushina found herself asking the elephant in the room after moments of silence.

"You know…" Melody flippantly rolled her wrist. "Shagging." The brunette sighed at their expressions, "Banging...Screwing." Kushina looked over to Teuchi who gaped at her other half. "Mating, Sleeping together….Holy Shite 'Shina," She looked back as her name was used. "Sex. We are not having sex." Kushina had been well aware of what Melody was talking about when she said 'mating' and 'sleeping together... hell at banging and screwing' she was fifty percent sure they were going down _that_ road with this conversation.

She wasn't completely incompetent you know.

But she was fifteen years old and this was very much not something she talked about with anyone. Kami, the only person she would talk about these things with was the woman who had just decided to shout to the heavens what _snogging_ was... plus it was awkward. With the whole Melody kinda in love with the same guy she was in love with... it hadn't been at first, but now that they were spending more time apart as separate people... and nine times out of ten Melody chose to look somewhere in her mid-twenties.

Kushina frankly figured avoiding the topic itself was best until she personally reasoned all of this out.

"How did you two meet?"

* * *

"So help me, Obito if you drop that cake I am going to be very upset with you and you won't live to become a ninja." Melody growled as the Uchiha detoured into the playground. While she knew he meant well and was a growing child. She also knew that his grandmother needed a break from him. So whenever she just so happened to have been in the area, she offered to take the squirt brunette sighed as she watched him play on the playground amazingly balancing said cake while doing so. "You're gonna be the death of me." She muttered to herself while she dropped the bags at her feet and rolled her wrists out as a familiar though unexpected Chakra pattern headed her way.

"This is possibly the last place I would expect to run into you." She smirked at the familiar baritone voice.

"I could say the same." She replied as she turned to look at him. "It wasn't exactly planned, but these things tend to happen quite a bit whenever I'm with him." She motioned toward the self-entertaining Uchiha that was currently trying to balance the cake on his head while climbing up a slide... _without_ using his hands. Not wanting to see the pastry destroyed with his antics she turned back to curiously frowning Hatake. It took her all but a minute to realize that the cogs in his head whirling and she took it upon herself to snap him out of it. It gave her an excuse to him... on the shoulder, "Don't get ahead of yourself Taichou."

"Who is that Obasan?" Obito seemed to have realized the silver haired shinobi and ran over. She wanted to facepalm and run her hand down her face, she _knew_ that they had to have learned about him and some other prominent shinobi in the academy. _Of course,_ since she _hadn't_ exactly gone through the academy herself for all she knew perhaps they weren't. _I shall ask Kushina about it later._ She thought.

"Obasan?" Sakumo grinned.

She gave Sakumo a questioning glance as she spoke, trying to find the correct way to explain their...possible friendship? "A friend. Obito-kun." She turned attention from her partner turned Jonin to the seven-year-old. "Now give me that and go play." With the cake quickly but safely returned to her grasp Melody set it down and turned her attention back to the Hatake. "I watch the squirt on occasions." She admitted with a smile as she looked back in the kids direction, "He lives with his gran and she can _definitely_ use the breaks." She then shrugged, "Just some friendly favors is all."

"Never thought of having kids of your own?" She didn't immediately answer his question, actually caught completely off guard by the sudden inquiry. Aside of the mission they had a couple months back she had only seen him a couple of times in passing. As far as she thought their friendship was purely one-sided on her side and they hadn't really shared anything personal to one another.

"It has crossed my mind a couple of times." She admitted after a moment then let out a sigh and began to grab the bags. _As much as I would enjoy to see just where this conversation goes... I'd rather not._ "Come on Obito-kun, we don't want to worry Baa-baa." Much to her surprise her elusive Anbu partner snagged a couple of bags and even grabbed the cake. "You don't have to worry yourself with that Taichou."

"Wouldn't want to ruin this before the it reached the birthday girl, now would we?"

Melody couldn't help herself she closed her eyes and genuinely smiled.

* * *

"Have you ever tried to talk him out of doing something?" Melody smiled to herself, "It's worse than trying to get a hyper-active Uchiha to leave the playground." The three of them sat in silence for a while until a patron came in for a meal and stole Teuchi away from them. Seeing an opportunity, Melody placed the money down for their combined meal and waved to the redhead. "I've got a couple of things I need to take care of 'Shina darling. It was a pleasure and I look forward to sharing more meals with you." With that, she was gone in a flurry of leaves reappearing in the training grounds.

Melody had no intention of training though and instead jumped up onto one of the nearby branches before laying on her stomach with a grunt.

The conversation from earlier as amusing as it was reminded the twenty-nine-year-old just how long it had been since she had seen her former Anbu partner slash captain slash friend slash apparently _friend..._ nevertheless worked with him. He had left Anbu about half a year prior, she hadn't noticed really in the chaos that were the Land of Fires borders. Missions had become more frequent and she was sure that after months of convincing him he finally accepted that spending time with his son was important. _In fact **more** important than the deteriorating borders._ She thought with a smile.

Their friendship, because that was all it was...seriously, had started off shaky at first but after their actual first encounter after their shared mission and her intentional 'accidental' encounters with him -not including the one at the playground... that caught her completely by surprise- they became the closest of friends. _And apparently more so to the people in passing._

It was difficult opening up to someone when all you could tell them were half-truths or plain lies, but she **had** to make it work. She _needed_ someone to talk to, someone who knew her for her actual age. For her actual self. Shishou knew her, but she knew her as Emiko who was Kushina's age and even the Hokage believed she was simply a piece of Kushina...some new technique that he could use in this not-quite-war.

Honestly, Melody was completely fine with that, but when the Hokage had asked who she wanted to be paired up with she had instantly said Sakumo Hatake...or rather Konoha's White Fang.

Why?

Well, she just so happened to have read his Bingo Book entry before being summoned and she thought _why the hell not?_

Sadly, it wasn't as if she could simply state this mission to Teuchi and Kushina back in the Ramen Shop. No, instead she chose to tell them a more innocent story. Or rather it had seemed innocent until she had been interrogated about her relationship with her. _Seriously do people have nothing better to do?_ She knew better, especially with people who stayed within the walls gossip was the highlight of their day. She just _really_ didn't like being part of it... at all.

She hadn't ever really thought about thinking of anyone like that since arriving here. In all actuality, she didn't think about much more outside of what she could and what she should or shouldn't do to make things better. Here she was two years into her life here with Kushina, practically twice the Uzumaki's age. As far as she was concerned, both back in her time/world and now her life was pretty much behind her. All there was to do now was work. This being more-so the case here since she was technically thirty, had managed to end up in the Anbu and brought here _**right before a Bloody Shinobi War.**_

Sue her for trying to prepare as much as she could.

She planned on dying if it meant keeping a certain redhead and blond alive.

She lived her life, as crappy as it was.

 _If I were to be completely honest with myself, I fear that the moment I stop to think about what exactly has happened I would go into shock or something._ She thought sourly as she swung her arm out in front of her, _Or perhaps once I realize that none of this is a dream or something. All I have been doing since arriving here is reacting to contact._ It was not a good mindset to constantly be in and she knew it could still potentially bite her in the ass. She was already losing her mind before she had dragged Sakumo into all of this. She was able to be herself around him even before he trusted her. The fact of the matter was that he chose to trust her even with all of her quirks, all of her inconsistencies and mysteries. She didn't have to be anyone but herself around him and it was likely she owed him her life for that.

* * *

 _"Pregnancy terrifies me." Sakumo looked over at the half-masked kunoichi with an arched brow behind his full mask. They had just killed out two of their eight targets and the battle hadn't been pretty. She had patched them up and he was grateful for that, they had then proceeded to set up camp and just put out the fire since neither of them was skilled enough for a proper Genjutsu._

 _What had brought this topic up was beyond him ... though he was curious._

 _His experiences with pregnancy were nothing but full of joy and anxiety. Fond memories he held dear of a time that was in a sense simpler than how things were now. "It is not uncommon for us to die during birth if not shortly thereafter." She was staring up at the sky. "Then I became a kunoichi. All the more reason not to."_

 _"You could die on a mission. On this mission even." He offered after a moment, he liked to think that he knew her better than that now. They had known each other for going on eight months and while personal things were still not something they shared often he knew enough about her to know that Death was most definitely not the reason for this. If anything it sounded like an easy excuse for her to use against anyone who didn't know better. "Death isn't the problem."_

 _"I should have known that wouldn't work on you." He was surprised to see her smiling at him, "No it's not. Frankly, the thought of something living inside of me growing and practically being a parasite really bothers me." She continued before he could interrupt. "It is something that would take away everything I worked hard to obtain. I could lose my career over it. I could **change** into someone else." She looked away from him and back at the sky reaching out to it and the stars. "This is all I have Taicho. This is **who** I am. I cannot imagine myself a civilian. Everything I know, love and enjoy are things I can only do as a shinobi."_

 _"You simply haven't found the one." He surprised himself, but before he could reprimand himself his attention was back on her when she chuckled._

 _"I've never given anyone the chance." She admitted, "I am well aware of that, but frankly I feel like when that person comes around it will all fall into place. Plus, I don't think I am the mothering type." There was a pause, "I've got bein' that crazy aunt down though."  
_

 _The two of them sat like that for a couple more minutes before he spoke up. "You looked like you were doing fine last time." She gave him a questioning glance, he could tell because of the lack of a lower part on her mask. "With the Uchiha kid."  
_

 _"I'll have you know I am not completely incompetent. I did raise my two brothers." That perked his attention. "Kami only knows what they are doing without me, though." She shook her head as she sat up and her unruly curls flailed back and forth from where they were secured. "Enough about me Taicho, how are you?" He paused and quickly scanned the area for any nearby enemies._

 _"All is well on the homefront if that is what you are asking." He laughed, "When I am not running around with my crazy-ass partner or team on missions, I am at home with my son." He heard her dramatically gasp and watched as a hand covered her mouth._

 _"You?" She scooted herself over and lowered her voice, "A son? Taicho do tell." He rolled his eyes from behind his mask and had to remind himself that she was quite the capable kunoichi, even if at the moment she seemed like a gossiping academy girl._

 _"Only if you refer to me by my name outside of missions." She paused and frowned it had been something he had been trying to stop for some time now._

 _"I don't know.." She drawled out and this time he frowned. "I mean it could take some time to get used to Taicho."_

 _"I will hold you to it." He watched entertained as she waited patiently for him to continue, then began squirming around._

 _"Taicho?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"You're son," She whispered covering her mouth, "Tell me 'bout him."_

 _So he did._

* * *

 _They were making their way back to the village. The mission was a success, but things got a bit_ complicated. _He looked over to his partner and frowned, he didn't care too much for seduction missions which they both agreed would be the best route for them to take when it came to their fifth target. It wasn't that anything had gone wrong during this process that bothered him, no it was the exact opposite._

 _She had a more appropriate outfit in storage on the off chance that any of their missions suddenly went down this route. Her mask had been the last thing off and what bothered him was the completely bored expression that she gave him before breathing in and adopting the sultry role she would need to play. It happened much too smoothly for his liking and she didn't seem the least bit bothered after. Of course this was ideally what you wanted out of a kunoichi, but she was his partner and it just didn't sit well with him._

 _After that, everything went smoothly up until they closed in on their last target. He was sieged up in his own home with his family, they were going to take him out when they all went to bed. He was woken up to screaming coming from the residence, Emi spared him a glance before the two of them jumped into action. They arrived in time to stop him from slaughtering his youngest daughter. Emi was trying her best to comfort the distressed child while he went over the others bodies. None of them survived their wounds and now they found themselves with a Kakashi-aged girl. They agreed it was best to put her in an orphanage a couple towns over. He didn't know what Emi told the girl, but the child was distraught when they announced that the were leaving. Emi whispered something to her and she was fine._ She'd make a fine mother. _He thought to himself._

 _"Taicho?"_

 _"Hmmm?"_

 _"Can I meet him?" He frowned and looked her over, aside of looking a bit fatigued and tense everything seemed normal. He tensed himself when she closed the distance between them and covered her mouth to speak, "Your son. Kakashi, can I meet him?" This close he could see the shimmer of eyeshadow around her doe-brown eyes. He could also see how she was more-or-less pleading for approval. Sakumo was willing to bet that allowing her this would help her with whatever was troubling her._

 _"I do not see why not." He answered back content on allowing the conversation to end there, but she was not._

 _"You're pack, you know."_

 _"Hm?"_ That wasn't expected _._

 _"Seeing him. I want a faces to the future I am trying to protect." She paused, "Whether you like it or not you and him are now pack and there is nothing I wouldn't do for the either of you." She added as they passed through the gates and made their way to the Hokage's Office. "The things we do are not pretty, but I'd gladly continue to do it if it means it keeps the people I care about safe."_

 _"It's never simple with you, is it?" He smirked._

 _"Oh, quite the contrary Taicho,"_

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

First I go missing for three weeks, then I decide to throw in an extra chapter or three?

Yep, I'll explain this logic in the latest update in Chapter 15!

 **Updated 091215**


	9. Chapter 8

The first thing to hit Minato's ears when he arrived back from their mission was Kushina's admittance into the hospital. Of course Teuchi hadn't the vaguest idea about what had exactly happened to land her in there, but he heard enough from the people in passing to know that it had something to do with her last mission and that she had been checked in earlier in the day. Minato had nodded and went about eating his Ramen ignoring his sensei's curious glances from next to him. The last thing he wanted to do was get his sensei involved in his personal matters, _especially_ those that involved a certain fiery redhead kunoichi.

After bidding his team farewell he had gone straight to the hospital and inquired about said redhead.

That was how he found himself sitting at her bedside frowning and wondering what exactly happened to land her in the hospital in such a state.

She wasn't covered with injuries aside of her bandaged right shoulder. The only real indication that something was wrong was the fact that they had her on oxygen. _What did you get yourself into this time?_ He thought to himself with a frown just as her brows knit together in her sleep.

Not liking that expression in the least Minato quickly got up out of his seat to go and fetch the nearest nurse. This was unnecessary though for Kushina's chakra spiked and he found himself shoved to the side by the three medical shinobi who ran in. Minato watched feeling nothing but useless as Kushina squirmed under their care, her chakra began spiking a few more times before she sat straight up holding her chest. "I need to see the Hokage," She stated as she swatted away glowing hands.

"Kushina-Chan you are in the hospital." The head nurse tried to reason Minato flinched back at the sudden wave of chakra she let loose in warning. "You need your rest, Uzumaki-Chan."

"You get me the Hokage now or you _are_ going to find yourself with a missing patient." The head nurse nodded toward a younger looking medical ninja who quickly left the room. Presumably to inquire about the Hokage. He watched from his position by the door as Kushina continued to slap away hands each resounding 'slap' growing louder than the last. She hadn't bothered removing the mask and was severely hoping that she just hadn't noticed it.

The scene continued on for minutes and he found himself questioning whether or not he should be there. Approximately four slaps after that train of thought into his head he had concluded that it would likely be best if he left.

Of course, this would be the time when the head nurse looked up locked eyes with him and smiled.

"It would appear you have a visitor, Uzumaki-Chan." Her sights fell onto him and he wasn't too sure if he liked the way those violet eyes lacked any warmth behind them. _No actually, I don't like it one bit._ Minato concluded as she swatted away another had while she just watched him. Feeling more and more uncomfortable under the gaze Minato decided to go ahead and head over to her bedside. It was as he neared that he noticed the conflict behind those frosty violet eyes, but they were gone the minute he was at her side and he was thankful to have familiar fiery violet eyes staring back at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He couldn't help himself, Minato laughed as she crossed her arms over her chest and sent him an accusing glare. It sounded muffled with the mask and she seemed to have noticed it finally. In one swift motion, she removed the device, much to the medical ninjas chagrin. "Don't tell me you are taking after your sensei." That shut him up but set the two medical ninja in the room into a fit of laughter.

"What?! No!" He quickly defended a bit too loud and quickly apparently as Kushina tilted her face to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Seriously. I just got back from my own mission and Teuchi told me you were here." That didn't seem to help his case for she narrowed her eyes further and he saw her right eye twitch. Luckily before he could dig himself a deeper grave the door opened and the nurse from earlier walked in behind their leader.

"I am going to have to ask everyone in this room to leave." Minato watched as the medical shinobi left the room. He didn't exactly _want_ to leave yet, at his pause hand fell onto his shoulder and he looked back to see a grinning Kushina. _For all intents and purposes, she seems alright._ He thought.

"That includes you blondaime." Then juts as he convinced himself that possibly that look from earlier was a trick on his eyes Minato found himself looking into dulled violet orbs. Had the smile she had offered with it not been genuine there was no way in hell he was going to leave that room _without_ being escorted.

But her smile _was_ genuine. So, begrudgingly, he smiled and squeezed the hand on his shoulder with one of his own before excusing himself from the room.

 _B-blondaime?_

* * *

"So what was that about?" Kushina looked over from her scroll and to Minato and Mikoto. She frowned and cocked her head to the side, "You were in the hospital Kushina..." Mikoto clarified as she crossed her arms. "As your friends we have every right to be concerned over what happened." It was then that Kushina realized that she hadn't offered them any explanation as to her sudden hospitalization or the incident Minato had witnessed.

"Oh, right." Kushina found herself chuckling as she set her ink brush down. "Well, you know how poisons and what not don't really affect me."

"No?" Minato nodded, but Mikoto shook her head and crossed her arms. _Did I really not mention that before? Oopsie Daisy._ Kushina thought to herself with a grin. "Or rather I assumed with you being an Uzumaki in all, but I wasn't sure nor am I sure what exactly your Clan's abilities are. Nevertheless which ones **you** have inherited." Kushina rubbed the back of her head with, _Sometimes I forget that Mikoto **is** an Uchiha._ "That is beside the point anyhow. You were poisoned?"

"Plenty of times." This got a glare from the both of them and Kushina held her hands out in front of her. "Calm down let me explain this last time. Apparently not everyone uses shitty poisons that don't knock out us Uzumaki." She mentally sent a prayer to her decimated Clan, no one exactly knew what the Uzumaki were known for - aside of their Sealing of course. And while they had a slightly better defense against poisons it was nowhere near as developed as her own. She had the Kyuubi to thank for that saving grace. "It was a good thing I was the one hit." She continued as Mikoto and Minato nodded in understanding. _Had it been anyone else they would have been dead. Arigato Kyuubi-sama._ She only gained a snort in response from her capture much to her surprise.

"A poison managed to knock you out?" Minato added with a frown, "That has to have been some strong stuff."

"Apparently this Chiyo person has a huge grudge against Konoha." She tapped her brush against the table in her dining room that they were sitting around as she nodded, "You wouldn't believe how annoyingly adept that old bag is with puppets."

"Chiyo of the Honorable Siblings of Suna?" Kushina hadn't ever seen an Uchiha, Mikoto included, openly gape before. _Hahaha, probably because they look more human when they do._ She thought to herself as she nodded, "Kushina you could have died!" Kushina leaned back as her best friend raised her voice and stood up out of her chair, she was very well aware that she _could_ have died. _**Should have is technically more correct.** _

Had she forgotten to mention that the Kyuubi hadn't stopped bitching about how incompetent she was while he was healing her?

"Why thank you Mikoto was completely _unaware_ of just how serious the situation had been while I was fighting off the poison before arriving back to Konoha." Kushina couldn't herself and paled slightly when the both of them looked incredulously at her. _I can't help it that Melody is rubbing off on me._ She mentally groaned ignoring the Kyuubi's laughter from the confines of her mind. "I am a hard kunoichi to kill, how long is it going to take for you and the rest of the village to realize that. It is **literally** in my _blood_ to survive." She crossed her arms and looked away from her friends, ignoring the ink she had smeared off her brush and onto her inner forearm in the process. "I'll take my abilities over some fancy-schmancy eyes any day."

Minato laughed and Kushina felt a surge of happiness at the sound. She glanced a look at Mikoto and found her smugly looking back. "We both know you don't mean that." Kushina huffed, _like hell I don't._ " **Everyone** wants the Sharingan, it's one of the three San Daidōjutsu." Kushina rolled her eyes while Minato continued to laugh, she then locked eyes with her best friend and smirked before pointing her brush at Minato.

A couple of ink droplets may have splattered on his face.

 _May have._

"Laugh it up, pretty boy." She threatened, he instantly shut his yap and went to wipe away the ink. Successfully smearing it across his cheek and nose. It took everything she had to not break out laughing as she spoke. "D-Don't think that we are unaware of our ability to kick your ass to Suna and back."

"Let's see you try and get out of Honorable Chiyo's puppet's grasp with your speed alone," Mikoto added and the two shared a look before cracking up at his confused state.

"Whoa, hold on now." Minato threw up his hands in defense, "What just happened here?"

* * *

A rather bad storm was rolling through the hidden leaf village and a loud roar of thunder woke the Hatake up from his slumber. Moments later his door slowly creaked open and he found himself smiling as his son walked over to his bed. "Otōsan?" Sakumo merely rolled over and lifted his son up onto the bed with him. He was a little disheartened by how quickly his son was growing up, maturing. He half expected for Kakashi to not make his way to his room. "Arigato."

"Shhh. Go to sleep young one." He was laying on his back with Kakashi nestled into his left side. His mind wandered for a couple of minutes and as he accepted sleep his mind was following a familiar chakra signature circling his home. Sakumo made to get off of the bed, but his son was having none of it... even after she had talked herself into knocking. Instead of trying to pry his son off of him Sakumo sat himself up and took both his son and the blanket with him. He made his way out of his room down the hall and into the living room to answer the door using this time to make it to where Kakashi was sitting on his arm. There was a second wave of knocks and with them being just on the other side Kakashi's eyes lazily opened. "I'll take care of this, get to sleep Kakashi-kun." With that, his son was out and he opened the door.

"Taicho?" She looked like she went a couple rounds with a tailed beast and sounded like it as well. His eyes narrowed as he realized the dazed look she supported and he couldn't help but feel slightly guilty at her appearance. He had gotten out of Anbu about nine months ago.

In his defense, she had been the one to get the idea in his mind.

"Emi?" Her eyes were still not focused and he brought his free hand to hold onto Kakashi's back on the off chance he would have to move suddenly. He knew her chakra signature anywhere and was willing to bet his own life that this was her, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. This could very well be Emi under some sort of Genjutsu or being pulled by strings he was incapable of seeing.

He didn't like how a rather fox-like grin slowly crept onto her features.

She then leaned toward him, to which he stepped back on his left foot and turned to the side to keep some distance between her and his son. Her hand came up and he tensed building up chakra to flicker out of reach if necessary, it was all for naught though for she brought her hand up as she would to tell him a secret.

"I am gonna throw up Taicho." Sakumo watched with a mix of confusion and curiosity. _She sounds drunk._ There was a quick sniff, _but she isn't._ Without further warning, his nose was overwhelmed with the acidic smell of bile as she turned to the side and emptied her stomach onto his lawn. The smell woke his son up who looked at him before turning to the hurling kunoichi.

"Ewwww." His son may have been a possible genius, but he was still three and Sakumo couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

"Gomen." She halfheartedly apologized.

"Go back to sleep Gaki." Kakashi huffed, but other than that rested his head back on his shoulder. Sakumo then stepped to the side to allow Emi room to enter. _I'll need to remember to have **her** clean up that slosh of Chakra Enhancing Pills in the morning. _ He thought to himself as she shuffled past him rubbing the top of Kakashi's head in the process. Kakashi seemed to have finally completely succumb to sleep. "I am going to put him to bed." The kunoichi grunted in response and he retreated back to his room and put the bundled three-year-old in the center of the bed before returning back to his guest.

She had turned on the light and only now did her image match what his nose had already told him. She was crouched on the ground looking between two scrolls, her mask was placed face up on the ground. As weird as it was, Sakumo still thought it was weird to see her without her mask while in uniform. Sure he _knew_ it was her and they even hung out with one another outside of missions. But there had always been that line and it seemed like it was graying with every passing day when it came to her.

He didn't know exactly what she was thinking, he didn't claim to ever, but at least right now she seemed more relaxed.

Having left Anbu he hadn't the vaguest idea as to what was going on within the ranks, he had picked quite the time to quit- he knew that and that had been one of his arguments against her as to why he couldn't leave. She had countered that the current escalation meant it was an ideal time to leave, he wasn't deeply involved in anything yet and honestly if the Hokage needed him to take part in any mission it wasn't as if the Third wouldn't ask.

He cleared his throat to gain her attention and what he saw irked him.

Her eyes were still dazed.

Something was up.

 _No, something was wrong._ He mentally corrected himself.

"Ambush." She lazily offered with a small smile before slamming her hand on the ground. He felt her chakra release into the ground and the characters retreat from her hand before climbing over the walls, floor, and ceiling of his living room. _Silencing Seal,_ he had seen her perform it enough times to know. "Ambush," She started grabbing the scroll to his right, her left. "A severe miscalculation and shite luck." She stood up from her crouched position and released the contents of the scroll. "Shite. Shite. Luck" She grumbled as he internally winced at the tattered clothing, namely the blood-soaked shirt she had rolled into itself and actively tried to keep from his vision. The smell gave it away. "The pants weren't stained, just cut up a bit..."

"I'll lend you a shirt." He offered and they went their separate ways for the time being. He heard the bathroom door shut behind him as he shuffled through his drawers. Finding a plain gray shirt he made his way to the bathroom and knocked, she reached out with an arm and when he didn't immediately hand her the article of clothing she waved it around childishly. The moment it touched her hand she snatched it and shut the door. "This ain't mine. Didn't I leave a shirt here?" He heard her whisper to herself, then the door was opened ajar once more. "Where's **my** shirt, Taicho?" He rolled his eyes but smiled and tsked. She peered at him from the small opening and he crossed his arms and gave her a pointed look. It took a moment but she finally rolled her eyes, "Sakumo~" She drawled. "Where's **my** shirt?" She asked again glaring lightly, although it looked **completely** wrong.

"If I do remember correctly you created a pillow case out of the four you brought over...remember?" Her eye widened a bit and she shut the door, he left chuckling to himself to make some tea.

The shower started up as he was warming water on the stove.

* * *

Hiruzen was not happy with the report on his desk, Jiraiya stood in front of him with a frown on his features. "Is there any particular reason as to why you are not asking Hatake about this, sensei?" The forty-seven-year-old leader of the village let out a long drag from his lungs. Sakumo Hatake was loyal to the village, there wasn't a doubt about that in his mind. Hiruzen knew that if he were to ask the now Jōnin to "look after" his former partner he would, but what Hiruzen did not want to do was give his anomaly any reason to think that anything was up...on the off chance she was more than just what Kushina and she had explained and she was an actual threat to the village.

That had actually been the plan. He was actually thinking of informing Sakumo during his next mission debrief on the day that Emi had specifically asked for him to be her partner. He had planned to follow through with the plan even after that, but when he saw how natural they looked together followed by how naturally complimented how the other worked... it gave him reason to pause. When the rumors started up, because he heard everything, followed by just how often he saw them in passing together _enjoying_ themselves.

The Professor found himself conflicted.

With her new found friendship with the villages White Fang and with his tendencies to keep people at arms length this was something that could greatly benefit not only the two of them but the village as a whole. Emi was far too much of an asset for the village for him not to take advantage of, their very own jinchūriki, Kushina, _had_ been the one to offer up her assistance and even the foundation for this little deal they had between them. Emi was someone he could throw at just about anything and not have to worry about repercussions with, she would simply return to Kushina if something were to become of her. That was one less death he had to worry about and he had treated her as such at first.

Then she had gone and proven that she was much more than what possibly either he or Kushina could have imagined.

She had her own mind, she thought for herself and had personally asked him for his blessing to seek out one of his students to train under her. He was amazed at how long the two of them were able to be separated. It didn't take long for him to learn that Emi was far more mature and analytical than her origin. Her way of thinking wasn't like any he had ever had the pleasure of conversing with. He was surprised about how dedicated he was to Kushina, even if the Chunnin may not have known. There wasn't a mission she had turned down and had even reasoned some of the more precarious missions that he had assigned her.

Then his anomaly went out and asked for his permission to seek out Konoha's elusive and possibly somewhat perturbed student.

Though it also furthered his concerns about just _what_ **exactly** Emi was. She returned and reunited with Kushina, he had half expected Kushina to gain all of the training Emi had learned, but the child wasn't changed. Emi explained later that she had simply stored those memories to the side for the redhead to experience later, in a very similar fashion to how she kept her dark missions from the teens mind.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not completely sure what Emi was...but he severely hoped that perhaps this was just some new technique that Kushina had unknowingly created...or possibly even something that related to her Clan.

The fact of the matter was that he was in no position to look this gift horse in the mouth.

So if Emi built relations with other people among the village, Hiruzen took it as a win. She in almost every sense was her own person when she wasn't joined with Kushina... relationships among the population would give her reason to remain loyal.

"There is," He answered curtly as he let out another long drag. "I would like you to sit down with her and Kushina to go over their Fūinjutsu ."

"Do they know one another?"

"Quite well. Kushina was the one who taught Emi everything she knows, now they learn alongside one another. " He explained not liking the expression on his students face the elder quickly continued. "I'd like to know where you would rank them with their competencies in the art." Jiraiya seemed to be contemplating a few things to himself and merely crossed his arms for a couple of minutes.

"That would explain a bit if the Uzumaki-brat is going around teaching people." Jiraiya thought aloud.

"What was that."

"Minato Namikaze, the blond Gaki, has shown an interest in seals as of late." Hiruzen carefully thought this new piece of information over. "If _she_ is skilled in the arts, it would explain his interest in it." Hiruzen chuckled easily understanding what his student was saying.

"There are not nearly enough Seals Masters for my liking in the village. If the next generation is showing interest, it is our duty to ensure they are steered in the right direction." Jiraiya didn't look too pleased with that statement and it wasn't as if Hiruzen could blame him. War was on the horizon and there was no getting around that. "Jiraiya one day you and I will no longer be either capable or around for the village to rely on. With the destruction of Whirlpool, we can no longer rely on the Uzumaki to send us trained Seals Masters or Apprentices. It is in the villages best interest to pass down this knowledge to the next generation."

"Can she be trusted?" His student asked in all seriousness. It was a reasonable question and one he couldn't answer in complete honesty.

"She has proved her loyalties to the village and her friends within the village." Jiraiya didn't say anything and Hiruzen knew that he understood the unsaid implications to such an answer. He knew his student and the last thing he _wanted_ was for Emi to have reason to go digging into this sudden inquiry. "Tsunade believed she was worth her time." That got a response out of his student, who to this day was still hopelessly in love with the Senju Heir.

"Tsunade-hime? As in Tsunade-Tsunade?" Hiruzen was not going to comment on the obscene gestures Jiraiya had made which easily explained why the Senju Heir was not in the least bit interested -outwardly- in him.

"She requested that I give her blessing to go training with Tsunade." He began actually glad he could openly talk with someone about this. He chose not to send away his Anbu guard. _I_ _f nothing else they should be warned._ He thought. "She didn't ask for anything but a written statement of my approval and said that she would convince ahem-" He cleared his throat to quote the brunette, "I'll convince the busty blond medical juggernaut Senju Heir that I am well worth her time...or I'll end up dead from annoying her. I hear she has one hell of a right hook." Jiraiya didn't blink once, but twice in silence before breaking out into boisterous laughter.

"And she _was_ able to convince her?" Jiraiya finally asked as he wiped away the tears in his eyes, Hiruzen nodded smirking himself. "Well, if nothing else I have enough reason to at least meet this kunoichi."

"Don't forget about the other two," Hiruzen added only to see his student was long gone. The Hokage let out a sigh and took a long drag out of his pipe curious as to what Hawk would think about this new piece of information. As expected there was no obvious change and so with that the Third went about with his duties.

* * *

 _"Apparently you managed to piss off one hell of a medical kunoichi from Suna." Emi started as she sipped her tea in front of him. "I can hardly blame you for not wanting to look me in the eye," She added. Sakumo looked up from his cup and attempted to hold his gaze with those eyes that sent shivers down his back. "When I saw them in the mirror I just about cried." She laughed leaning back into her chair and bringing her cup up to her lips once more._

 _"It took me up until now to realize what bothered me most about it." She didn't say anything so he continued. "They lost that predatory-like gleam that unsettles people." They laughed, "Seriously it looks wrong looking at you right now and not seeing that." She pulled her lips into a tight smile._

 _"They look dead to me," She admitted, "I am sure it will go away as soon as the poison leaves my system."_

 _"Poison?!" He set his cup down a bit too harshly and some of his tea spilled over. "We need to get you to the hospital."_

 _"Nope. You know how I sorta heal faster than others?" He nodded, "Well poisons don't quite have the same effect on me as it does other people either. I slept through the worst part."_

 _"Eventually you are going to have to go to the hospital." He didn't like her response, but he knew better than to push._

 _"Not if I can help it." She laughed._

* * *

Melody groaned and proceeded to roll over enjoying the warmth from the sun's rays as she napped. Her head was killing her and while she seriously wished she had took Sakumo up on his offer to sleep over she knew that it was for best if she left. In all honesty, _she_ hadn't been the one to be poisoned, no that had come at quite the surprise.

Not only was their Intel complete crap for her last mission and she was not only ambushed but also separated from her team, Melody found herself completely blindsided by complete dizziness. It felt worse than her times deployed out in that scorching heat for hours. On top of that hell, it felt as if her chakra coils and veins were on fire. It made fighting extremely more difficult since she couldn't rely on her chakra what so ever. Realistically the fight she was in took second to her internal battle of fighting to stay separated from Kushina. Had her team not shown up and murked the enemy-nin giving her time to figure out what the hell was going on... well they would have been down one member.

That night she had receded to the confines of her mind to rejoin Kushina mentally - being apart physically was not the toughest part about all of this - in order to ensure that Kushina didn't witness anything she had done, mission wise, Melody was constantly in a state of detaching herself from the redhead...leaving just enough lingering as to not worry the kunoichi.

Whenever they met up mentally not only would she talk to the Uzumaki but she would also start storing away memories as to open up more space and lesson the burden. And sometimes she would _attempt_ to share an intellectual conversation with the Fox.

 _Attempt._

When she had arrived Melody was surprised to find a knocked out Kushina laying in the meadow.

She was snoring.

Loudly.

Kurama had been the one to fill her in on everything.

Understandably he wasn't too happy about the near death experience and had **threatened** to drag her back if things ever got that dangerous again.

Melody figured it was his own way of saying he was worried about the redhead.

She was _convinced_ that the Fox was in denial.

While Kushina didn't speak to Kurama nearly as often as she did, Melody was almost foolishly positive that all of this -namely her showing up and fucking shite up- had changed the Fox for the better. _If that was even possible._ Aside of their planning she actually shared memories of her old life with him, quite often. While she absolutely loved and adored Kushina the fact of the matter was that Melody was _twice_ her age and had gone through her own version of hell...some would say for twenty-eight years. While she had Sakumo on the outside, now. There were still things she couldn't tell him about. Things she had to lie or half-lie about. Simply, Kurama was not going anywhere and if _anyone_ was going to believe her -aside of Kushina- and be able to offer some sort of commentary it was him.

Out of everyone in this world, Kurama was not going anywhere. That and apparently he was interested in the curious way things were run 'in this world she created.'

Had she forgotten to mention that he was an ass?

An ass who thought he knew everything?

No?

Well, he was.

Their friendship was nothing like the one he would have with Naruto. Or would have had? But he was her ass and he wasn't going anywhere for a long while.

Did she neglect to mention his dislike for Uchiha eyes?

No?

Was he happy that she was aware of this?

Kami, no.

But she sure as hell had and was going continue to use that to her advantage.

"Is she dead?" It took her a moment to realize that she had no idea who the hell was talking above her and lazily open her eyes.

"I don't think the dead breath Inoichi." An unmarred Nara sighed, Inoichi puffed his chest out and glared at his comrade.

"It was a means to start conversation. I wasn't being serious." Shikaku merely shrugged as Melody lifted herself up and waved at the Ino-Shika-Cho parents.

 _I don't think I will ever grow tired of meeting the adult cast._ She thought to herself with a growing smile.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

I know, I know. _Another_ chapter thrown in the middle of all this?  
I happened to find out my timeline was not making sense and while I could have simply edited ages and went on there would have been a **lot** more time skipped over and I feel as if these events contribute to the story and will explain a few things in further chapters.

I promise that in addition to these two 4000+ word chapters added into the middle of all this, I will post a chapter at the end.

 **Updated 091615**


	10. Chapter 9

" Sakumo~!" A flurry of brown tackled the Hatake into the ground, "You simply must let me meet the mini-me." The white haired shinobi laughed as the female lifted herself up from the hug and looked down at the elder who was staring up laughing at her.

"F-Father?" A young Kakashi Hatake stared widely at the scene before him. He had literally just witnessed his father, the man he idolized more than life itself, be taken down to the ground by someone who he had seen and sensed plenty of times in passing as a young child.

"Kakashi I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine and fellow shinobi, Emi. Emi, my son Kakashi." The five-year-old could only imagine this was what it would have felt like if he were being sized up by a predator. _This has to be what the rabbit feels like while being hunted by a wolf._ He thought just as those predator-like brown eyes flickered through various other emotions. Then without so much as a warning he tried to avoid the pounce.

He was unsuccessful.

Not only had the kunoichi managed to wrangle him into a full on hug but she had also made it to where when they landed where he was on top of her and she with her back flush on the floor. The scene was almost identical to the one that he had witnessed as he walked out of his home minutes earlier only this time the Hatake was on top. "You have grown up, sooo much." There was something eerily and comfortably familiar to the young Hatake about all of this, but at the moment his mind was trying to get over the fact that he hadn't been able to dodge the woman. "You likely don't remember this, but I promised to be at your graduation, kid." His dark gray eyes finally met up with doe brown once more and the Hatake saw nothing but pure admiration staring back at him.

There were so many things about her that _bothered_ him, but it was those Kami-awful eyes that seemed to do him in.

Even though she appeared to be a fully grown adult and shinobi if her reserves were any indication... those eyes held more depth to them than he had ever seen in anyone up until that point. It also was almost as if that predatory gleam never quite left those irises, it always seemed to be there muted in the background. At this moment, he could see it as she looked at him in nothing but complete adoration. Kakashi Hatake learned early on that if you wanted to best judge someone at first glance you only had to look into their eyes. They were a reflection of the person, no matter how hard one tried if you only knew where to look.

And the five-year-old Kakashi Hatake did not like that look that hid in the depths of those doe brown eyes. The only person that came close to having that haunted look was the Hokage himself. She had the eyes of someone who had lived to seen the atrocities of the world and may have had to have performed them herself.

And if that wasn't bad enough on top of all of this uneasiness, deep down Kakashi felt a peace with them. At first he thought it was because those eyes, those cold ancient predatory eyes were not being directed towards him... the more he thought about it, though he realized that deep down in his subconscious there was more to it that that. Somehow he just _knew_ that those eyes would _never_ direct all of that hidden malice towards _him._

Where that had come from, he had no idea.

"You plan on letting go of my son anytime soon?" Kakashi hadn't even realized that they were no longer outside of the Hatake compound until that very moment. The young Hatake bristled at how he had somehow allowed this practical stranger not only take him to the ground but apparently move him away from home and into the busiest part of the village without his notice. She didn't seem even the slightest bit bothered when he attempted to remove himself from her grasp, instead it almost looked natural the way she shifted him up onto her shoulders and held a firm grip on his ankles.

"No **p** e." The beginning of a memory began to form in his mind at that single word response. There was something annoyingly familiar about all of this and he had accepted that perhaps this Emi person was a prominent figure in his early childhood. "He doesn't even _recognize_ me yet, so this time I am going to **smother** him in my scent as to ensure this doesn't happen again." That had practically verified his thoughts, he hadn't bothered to pay attention to his sense of smell but one sniff was all it took for the scent of lilies with an undertone of salted water to fill his senses.

What surprised him most was the blissful calm that overwhelmed him.

Had his father not told him that his mother had passed shortly after his birth and he not inhaled her now fleeting scent as a babe Kakashi may have reason to believe that perhaps this tan skinned female who brought upon this wave of tranquility and sense of safety was, in fact, his birth mother.

Today was proving to be even more informative and eventful than he had originally anticipated.

"You are out of uniform." Kakashi watched the exchange from his perch on her shoulders. His father was looking over at the brunette with a look he couldn't quite put a name to. It was similar to the look he received but different. That was not to say that Sakumo Hatake wasn't an expressive person or didn't care for those around him. In fact, he cared greatly for his village and the people that resided within it. His father was a shinobi and Kakashi quickly learned that with different situations and people his father's expressions seemed...planned.

For example, the looks he received from his father was vastly different than ones his father offered random civilian's on the streets. Actually the closest expression Kakashi had witnessed that was closest to the one reserved for him, his son, were the ones Sakumo shared with his friends and even that was a stretch. Kakashi had chalked it up to him being his son and them being a family then went on his merrily way.

It would seem that there was still a lot he had to learn _even_ about the one man he thought he had completely figured out, his father.

"Excuses." Now his attention was on the _unknown_ in question and his current capture. She freed his right ankle to wave off his father dismissively. "I like the idea that with you guys I can't hide who I am..." She paused, placed her hand back on his ankle and Kakashi had a feeling there was something being left unsaid there intentionally. "Unless, of course, I absolutely had to." Both he and his father were looking at her with an arched brow now. Their sense of smell was not one to be trifled with or joked about. Sure Clan's like the Inuzuka had their dogs but they stuck out and were different beings entirely, the Hatake's were your best option if you wanted to not bring attention to yourself and still have that enhanced sense of smell on the battlefield. "Don't look at me like that." She laughed, "There are even ways to fool those Hatake noses of yours." He didn't know what she had done, but his father looked away and Kakashi was going to act like he didn't see his father's ears flush as he rubbed the back his neck.

 _There has to be a story behind that._

Kakashi knew that while she wasn't technically his mother Emi could very well be the closest thing to one he may ever get. And it was for that reason that he tried his _hardest_ to ensure that what he felt right now, on top of her shoulders as they walked him to his graduation with nothing but smiles and laughs, was something that he would _never_ forget.

* * *

"How can you even read half this stuff." Minato asked from his position at the kitchen table as he waited for his redhaired friend to finish getting ready. He hadn't been there too long, but Kushina wasn't known for taking long to get ready to begin with...so when he had arrived and when she had threatened him from outside her bedroom door to 'sit still and shut up' Minato Namikaze played it smart and did as he was told.

It had been a couple of weeks since he had last seen Kushina during the Chunin Exams. The Exams themselves went about as smoothly as one could hope with heightened security and a war having just ended between the counties. Five more Genin had been promoted, surprisingly enough none had been from Konoha. Minato wasn't sure if this was a political move on the Hokage's part or if it was a good thing that this war had ended...because the shinobi coming up were not on par with the other villages.

It was a blessing to say the least and hopefully a step in the right direction for peace among the nations.

Kushina had been assigned out on an escort mission with another squad and, therefore, he had not had the opportunity to confront her about the demons of her past. There were also the rumors he had heard from other nations shinobi that he would like to discuss with her.

The Big One in question being: Who did she think was the current Kyuubi's Jinchūriki.

He really needed to visually gauge her response to the question before he could solidify his current hypothesis on the matter. It bothered him that something like this hadn't come up prior to now or likely wouldn't have had he not had the privilege of being one of the Legendary Sannin's students. Not that he couldn't understand why something like this would be kept under wraps, but from what he understood -at least here in Konoha- the Jinchūriki had the ability and right to share their unique standing in the village with people they trusted.

It explained a lot, if what he believed were true was. But more importantly, it brought opened up a whole new barrage of concerns from him. It was obvious from the get-go that gaining trust was going to be an issue for Konoha's Red Hot Habanero, she transferred at an odd time from another village that was later destroyed. She stuck out and was bullied for her appearances and differences- luckily she was stubborn and not afraid to defend herself even as a young child. She was kidnaped shortly after the death of her guardian and rescued by not one of Konoha's finest but instead a former classmate who she believed was against her as well. That kidnapping was something else she hadn't talked about, but it had changed her view on a lot of things. She began to open up and just as she did her second sensei turned out to be a traitor and forced one of her teammates to slaughter the other- she nearly had to kill that teammate in order to kill the traitor and his accomplice.

What worried him most was...

 _Did she truly_ trust _anyone?_

Minato shook his head to get his mind away from those thoughts instead choosing to look at the papers and scrolls scattered on the kitchen table. _Well, that's interesting._ First lost in his own thoughts then by the curious items on the table and not knowing how long it was going to take his friend to get ready, Minato took it upon himself to try and solve the new puzzle laid out before him.

* * *

"What are you talking about?" Kushina yelled from her room as she brushed through her hair cringing as she caught another rather nasty knot. Kushina grumbled in annoyance as she glared accusingly at her brush for inflicting such pain upon her. A short fight with her hair later in an attempt to throw it up the redhead growled before running her hands through her hair and allowing it to stay down.

Having not received a reply from her now close friend the sixteen-year-old sighed and made her way out of her room and into the living quarters where her guest was waiting. Finally ready to take on, what was bound to be, a long day.

Knowing that he was going to pick up an interest in seals and destined to become one of the greatest seals masters of his time couldn't have prepared Kushina to find her blond haired friend studying a mixture of her encrypted and non-encrypted notes. Running her hair through her brush she brought out with her, Kushina took a seat across from him and continued to watch as he apparently lost himself in them.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he _couldn't_ understand everything he was reading and if the notes written in his handwriting was any indication; Minato had apparently caught on that there were some similarities between the two seals he had on the left side of the table to the supposable gibberish writings on the right.

Tickled by the experience and always up for having a reason to look at her now, though she'd never admit it aloud, crush Kushina watched as he continued to work for the next ten minutes. It was about four minutes in when she noticed that Minato had was living up to his genius reputation, he was breaking down the new language quite easily. _Though I'm willing to bet five bowls of Ichiraku's that he hasn't the vaguest idea as to the meaning of what he is breaking down._ She thought smugly.

Melody had explained that French wasn't nearly as complicated as some of the other languages she had under her belt. At least for her the language still used just about the same characters she had been brought up to learn. It was just a matter of memorizing what words meant what. _Actually, he seems to be picking up things it took me **weeks** to notice._ Kushina thought with a scowl, both proud and annoyed at the idea. _I wouldn't be surprised if he would be interested in learning some of her other languages as well._

Even with the changes that came with Melody's appearance Kushina could easily see how her best friend could grow into the adult she had the pleasure of admiring from Melody's memories.

"I see you made yourself at home." She waited until he went to dunk his quill into the well before speaking and successfully got the reaction she wanted. Sure that meant she was down an expansion and storage seal, but those were easily replicable.

"Oh! Ugh, you don't mind, do you?" Violet eyes smiled and shook her head as he rubbed the back of his head and looked anywhere but at her. He didn't lose his situational awareness often, but when he did and she was around- she thrived to use that against him.

"I didn't know you were interesting in Seals."

"Haha, I didn't really know either honestly." The kunoichi leaned back in her seat and arched a brow, glad to finally have him embarrassed instead of the other way around. "I've seen how they could be applicable in battle, heck what little I have seen you use seemed practical." He picked up the French he was looking at moments before, "I didn't mean to intrude, this is obviously coded for a reason. I shouldn't have-."

"I leave things out all the time or fall asleep while working. It adds an extra layer of security if someone were to break in and I forgot to put them up." She interrupted, "Plus I think I found a new reason for continuing to code them."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Did you know you bit your lower lip and chew on the end of a brush when thinking really hard?" He flushed and she mentally cackled triumphantly.

They had a unique sort of friendship going on.

* * *

Akihiro stood at the front gate with his arms crossed and bag packed. His team hadn't even arrived yet and he was already done with this mission.

His mind wandered to the C-ranked mission that had not only costed him half his team but opened his eyes to the realities of what it meant to be a shinobi. The first life he ended up taking was that of his own teammate and it quickly looked as if the second life would be his female teammate. His distaste for mind-controlling techniques derived from that battle. From Manabu's death.

It didn't take a genius to know that team five wasn't exactly the best team in the books. Now everyone chalked that up to the fact that they didn't have a sensei for almost a good year and a half into their careers. Now, because of those unfortunate events though, he found himself much closer to his surviving teammate than even his own family. Demon host or not Kushina Uzumaki was the equivalent of a sister to him and it was because of this closeness and that mission as to why he was aware that Konoha's Red Hot Habanero had much more going on in her life than anyone perhaps even the Hokage would have ever guessed.

Firstly: She talked to herself, a lot.

Originally he had found this little quirk of hers quite annoying. Whether it was the muttered witty remarks, her own personal musings or opinions on people- none of it seemed to contribute to anything other than grating on his nerves. After the death of Manabu though Akihiro paid more attention to the things she said and it was through these self-conversations of hers that he came to his next revelation about Kushina.

She knew a **lot** more than she let on.

Kushina was well versed in the political aspect behind being a shinobi. She seemed to understand the logic behind certain scenarios and had even mumbled events that had caused the mission they were offered. Then when they would sit down and listen to higher ranking shinobi talk about possible options Akihiro noted that whenever the female snarled or scrunched her nose up and they followed through with that plan...things didn't turn out well. People especially fellow shinobi often underestimated Kushina...which brought him to his next point.

Kushina was cunning.

Ask anyone about the redhead and they would be quick to tell you that she is short-tempered, stubborn, violent and annoyingly oblivious to her surroundings. He would have been the first to jump onto that opinion as well, but the truth of the matter was that it was this image that Kushina wanted to be perceived as. Only as they continued to work together and he began to pay attention himself, did Akihiro notice that not many things seemed to catch the female genuinely off-guard. He, like many others, had mistakenly believed that when she was 'caught off guard' and got 'angry' it was because she was oblivious. Truth of the matter was that Kushina was typically annoyed annoyed with the situations they found themselves in. Even after the incident where she severely crippled him and then proceeded to murder two higher rank shinobi she looked more annoyed than anything. Speaking of that incident... Akihiro was convinced that...

Kushina was completely capable of detachment.

Kushina's eyes always spoke volumes about what she was truly feeling. Especially when she was trying to wear an indifferent mask during trying times. Akihiro had been convinced that while she was not as attached to people and naive as Manabu it would surely be her downfall. That idea was completely shot in flames when he watched those detached cold eyes scan the battlefield after she picked herself up from their forced battle. Minutes before when she watched as he burned their mangled teammate alive she was in tears and frantic. Her moves got sloppy and she was a much easier target for the man controlling his body. He was personally terrified that he was going to have to kill her as well.

Then her motionless body lifted itself up on her forearm, she laughed and agreed that she was stubborn before picking herself up and looking at directly at him. There was absolutely nothing familiar about those violet eyes to him. He felt as if he were looking into the eyes of a complete stranger. There was still that familiar fire burning behind them but everything else was wrong. The way she talked, the way she carried herself. Her fighting style was completely different than that of which he had grown accustom to. He thoroughly believed that he was being forced to fight a complete stranger in her she did she did for a purpose. If he wasn't hit by something, sure enough it was because she had that planned for something else.

Kushina was well above Genin.

After she had paralyzed him in place Akihiro watched as Konoha's Red Hot Habanero took down the two higher ranking shinobi. She had taken out their client without so much as a struggle, a sweat. When she fought their false sensei, which he now knew was an S-ranked criminal, bones were broken, mistakes were made and it lasted until the sun went down. He had continued to bait her to allow the demon free- at dusk he got what he asked for and Akihiro's earlier conclusions were confirmed.

Kushina was, without a doubt, a jinchūriki.

* * *

 **Ending Notes:**

So that was much longer than I anticipated. Hope you enjoyed!

I wanted to get this out before tonight...I'll be drinking and typically the day after I won't get out of bed. Corrections will be made later

 **Updated 091215**


	11. Chapter 10

**Authors Note** : So I am going to be honest here, I got into quite a big incident recently that has left me on semi-permanent bed rest for an indefinite amount of time. Good news, that means I have a lot of time to think about what I want to add into the story… bad news, Melody is a portion of myself and leaving myself to my thoughts is dangerous.

Updated 072915

Thank you very much.

* * *

"Well, that had to have been the most pointless mission ever." Akihiro looked over at their red-haired companion as she tossed the scroll in question up in the air. She was doing that thing again and he wasn't too sure if they were ready for a taunted ambush. "I mean that village doesn't even exist anymore, you would think we would know something about that." She looked over at him and it was then that he realized that she was still that redheaded idiot he had come to call his sister.

"You know Mikoto would kill you if she heard you talking about this mission like this." He joked with a smirk, "She has been dying to get out of the village for months now."

"It's not my fault her husband-to-be and Clan, in general, is hella overprotective." Akihiro laughed at the sight of her shivering, something told him that taming Kushina Uzumaki wasn't exactly going to happen...ever. "Seriously having no say so in your own future." She just wouldn't be Kushina Uzumaki if she were tamed, apparently it was just in her blood to be a pain in the ass.

"I wouldn't say that," Minato interrupted from their left, finally joining in on the conversation. "Didn't she pick Fugaku?" Akihiro knew, well just about everyone knew, that Minato had a thing for Konoha's Red Hot Habanero ever since she showed up in the academy all those years ago. Almost everyone was interested with their new classmate, the way they had gone about showing it was definitely not the best. In their defense, even the more hostile of Konoha's female population were taught to act a certain way and typically did. Kushina...well after she proceeded to defend herself and beat the living daylights out of anyone who picked on her. Well, people were still interested, but now knowing she wouldn't hesitate to bite back many shut up and others ganged up.

"Does it count as picking if there is only one person on the list?" She scowled at the blond as she caught the scroll again, the blond put his hands up in defeat and Kushina went back to tossing the scroll to herself. _Those two have one hell of a friendship going on._ Akihiro thought with a smirk, how Minato had managed to win the kunoichi over was beyond the majority of the population, but everyone knew they had to have at least been friends with how much they were seen around one another.

As for Team Five, Kushina and Akihiro had been paired up with a number of other Chunin ranked shinobi since Manabu's loss and later their promotion to Chunin. Though surprisingly enough this was the first time that Minato had been individually assigned to them on his own, Akihiro had no complaints with having their generations prodigy working with them. He just couldn't help but wonder why out of every mission they had been on before this it was only now that Minato was thrown onto their team.

It was just a simple C-ranked mission...was it not?

Between Kushina and himself they had both long and close range combat covered, typically they would be teamed with a Genjutsu specialist due to the fact that apparently no amount of training was going to help Kushina get any better than where she stood against them. They were covered from simple to mild Genjutsu easily, but someone specially trained in it could easily tip the scale in their favor. On top of that everyone knew that Team five or rather Kushina and himself were more in tune with anyone than most within their age and experience level.

Example: Akihiro knew that since Kushina was blatantly throwing the scroll out in front of her and her blatant boisterous, even for her, complaining she had picked up that they were being followed and was in the process of trying to lure them out. He knew by an arched eyebrow earlier at his laughing that she had picked up that he had caught onto her little game and was on guard himself but still trying to play the role of inexperienced Chunin to help lure them out. After the mission with Manabu, he was well aware that she was on a whole different level than Minato and himself, or at least she could be given reason to. It showed in their training that Kushina had the potential to fight at a higher level, but typically she was still Kushina. She had explained as best as she could that he wouldn't be seeing that other half unless the situation was as bad as it was then and the only reason it took her so long to bring her alter ego out was and he quotes "because of that mind controlling freaks abilities to wishy washy my mind." Anything he tried to get out of her after that was easily deflected or completely ignored.

He respected her decision to keep it that way and knew that if needed she would fill him in.

As for the mission at hand since she had killed the two enemies who knew about this little-known secret of hers, because honestly who was going to care about Kushina when they already knew that she was a jinchūriki, they had an ace in the whole if things were to go wrong during this mission. It was simple enough and explained to him individually by the Hokage himself, Kushina had proven that she could handle her own with higher ranking shinobi and she had opted on getting stronger with this alternate so that she could last longer. In order to refrain from losing any more of Konoha's remaining skilled shinobi Kushina had agreed to play decoy and allow her teammates to retreat back and gain reinforcements posted around the land of fire if not back at Konoha herself.

The problem with all of this was that their add-on teammates were not aware of this little scenario and, therefore, may become problematic, it was his job to convince them otherwise and get their butts moving since Kushina would be busy with other matters. The Hokage made it clear that this alternate ego of Kushina's was trustworthy and as loyal to the village and Kushina's wellbeing as can be, but he added that they shouldn't rely heavily on her. He wouldn't get into detail as to why and it made his nose itch but Kushina seemed to have faith in this alternate ego and she had proven herself competent in battle the last and only time he saw her.

The question was whether she was a blessing or a curse.

"I've been meaning to ask Kushina, and don't hit me-" He could have sworn that the temperature dropped a few degrees at the interruption then looked over at Kushina and held a hand out.

"I'm feeling just fine Minato." The redhead interrupted with her characteristic wide smile as she dug into her pouch and handed him over the cash. "It would seem that you have cost me a good two bowls of ramen by taking so long to bring that up." She groaned as he smirked in triumph, "but the fact of the matter is that with the Yamanaka's help nothing that happened on that specific day bothers me. Same goes for the first incident you were part of," She had the scroll held under her left arm as she counted what she had left with a scowl. "I find that rage and spite is a good motivator."

They were still being tailed and it seemed like Minato now noticed himself.

"Yamanaka's?"

"Blond haired blue eyed shinobi?" Kushina gave him a questioning glance, but Akihiro knew she was pulling Minato's leg at this point as she began tossing the scroll once more. This time a little higher. "You know Inoichi's family?"

"I know who they are." Kushina laughed and he found himself chuckling, sometimes Kushina was just an ass and she knew it.

"Well Inoichi's father ensured me that my compartmentalization wouldn't suddenly bust open or something, ya know." Again the she paused with the scroll, "They use odd words, ya know. Hard to follow them sometimes. But I am completely cleared for missions mother-goose."

"Mother-goose?" Akihiro couldn't help himself he laughed. She caught him off guard with that one completely and from the looks of it Minato too was at a loss.

"That doesn't quite fit our blond comrade does it?" She asked him as she placed the scroll back into one of her own and crossed her arms. "Mother hen is a bit more fitting right?" Minato blanched and the two of them laughed.

"I, I don't see how my concern over your well-being makes me a mother hen."

"Hahaha, look at him bristling his feathers… it's downright adorable, ya know." The two of them continued laughing at Minato's expense. The Hidden Leaf wasn't far now. "You'd think something interesting would have happened by now, ya know." Akihiro allowed his laughter to slowly come to a stop at the change of subject.

"With the war just having ended?" The three of them had rehearsed a couple of lines to ensure that if something were up it could be discussed without bringing too much attention to themselves or what they knew.

"Right. I mean after the first there were retaliations for decades, I just feel like this one closed up not only too soon but too cleanly as well."

"Perhaps everyone knows it's for the best," Minato added with a shrug, his eyes conveying that he understood the underlying message being crossed. "Perhaps we are finally learning from our past mistakes.

"I wish I lived in your world Minato." Kushina sighed breaking from their preplanned conversation, "I mean I can still kick your ass from here to Iwa, but I'd know that your brain would still be intact to deal with all the weird political things."

"Why would you wish that upon anyone." Minato was surely imagining an ass kicking from their female comrade.

"You're the one who wants to become Hokage." She chirped, "Therefore politics shall be part of your life."

"And if I may interrupt, Kushina you wanted to be the first female Hokage." Now he was interested in the conversation, the two of them knew just about everything that they wanted the other to know about them. This was the first time he was aware that her academic dream was thrown into the wind.

"Wanted. Past tense." Akihiro looked over to Minato and Akihiro was sure that his expression reflected Minato's shocked one.

"What?!"

"I _wanted_ to become the first female Hokage, that is correct. I have also lived the life of a shinobi and seen how things work." Kushina began explaining as if it were the most obvious thing and more importantly no big deal. "I believe I can do more damage on the ground than behind the desk."

Oh ho ho, but Akihiro knew better.

"Translation: You don't want to deal with the paperwork." She stilled.

"Now that makes sense." Minato nodded, "I easily imagine you sealing away the paperwork and claiming to have never received any. And for all anyone would know it could be true."

"Oi!"

"Now look whose fur is bristling." Akihiro laughed as Kushina took a playful swing at him.

"I'm hurt you think so lowly of me, ya know. I'd have seals that would do the paperwork for me." She began to rant, "Seriously when have you entered his office and not seen mountains of that kami-awful paperwork?! It's always there, ya know." She crossed her arms and began marching forward still talking. "Who in their right mind wakes up every morning with a smile on their face knowing that they have that hell to return to once they got back to the office?" She was pulling her hair out now, "No wonder Hokage-sama always seem so curt and formal, it is all he can do to prevent himself from going off on anyone who walks into his office." She grabbed more hair, "Then there is that, people just strolling along into his office like they own the place, ya know." Akihiro knowing this was going to be a winded rant held up three fingers with a smirk. "I don't know how many times during our short term as Team 5 that we have been interrupted by a wayward shinobi. Or those creeps in masks, don't get me wrong I know that they are like Konoha's finest shinobi, ya know but creep lot those masked shinobi are." _Four_. "I mean on top of mission reports, which have to be in the hundreds daily by things being done in the village imagine all of the long-term outside village reports coming in. There have to be thousands, ya know?" Minato gave him a glance as if asking if he should interrupt, Akihiro shook his head and smiled.

"It comes with the job." Minato did so anyway and Akihiro sent him a slight glare. _Her record was nine, she was just four away!_

"Nope."

"What do you mean, nope?" Minato laughed, "You can't just push it aside."

"Watch me."

"So you want to be Konoha's first female Hokage again?"

"As I said before, Spite it quite the motivator,"

* * *

"What the hell was I thinking?" Laughter could be heard as the brunette groaned on her position on the couch. "There is no way in the name of American Pie that _he_ is **not** going to kill me." The female shuddered as she curled herself further into the blankets that protected her from the outside world. "On what world did I think that this was a good idea?!"

"You know talking to yourself is a sign of insanity." Melody groaned at the sound of the younger Hatake's voice, _"sometimes I really wish he was a **normal** five-year-old."_

"She's doing it again Kakashi-kun." Annoyed the brunette looked out from her cocoon and glared at the five and nine-year-old _I want to strangle you sooooo bad._

 _"_ Remember, you were the one of offered to watch Obito and I." Did she forget to mention how much she could hate the too-smart-for-his-own-good child prodigy? "You have no one else to blame with yourself?" He was smirking, she didn't have to see him from behind her fortress to hear the mirth behind every single word. What bothered her most was how right the idjit was about all of this ...

* * *

 _"Can I ask a favor of you, my friend?" She could tell throughout their whole mission that something was bothering him, the moment he looked at her and ordered her to meet him in the gate when all of this started was a dead giveaway. She had known him for the better part of two years now, they were practically inseparable when she was walking around in her form._

 _Was she a little upset that she missed Kakashi's birth and his mother? Hell yes, but there were just some things you couldn't help. And she sure as hell wasn't going to sit down and mope about it when she had been given this opportunity._

 _"You know, I really don't like it when you ask like that."_

 _"Like what?"_

 _"When you ask a question and add 'my friend' at the end. It typically means that I'm not going to like what you are going to ask of me." The two of them laughed as they entered the village and stopped at their usual spot. Melody caught eyes with Asami and smiled when the female begun preparing their meals. "Just saying..." Melody placed her elbows and the table and leaned forward with a mischievous look in her eye. "You know that whatever it is the answer is yes?" Melody wasn't too sure if she like the look that Sakumo gave her but chose to ignore it and instead turn to her Saki that Asami brought over._

 _"Marry me?" She died. Or at least she almost died and watched as her best friend cackled in laughter._

 _Imagine that. Sakumo cackling._

 _It startled her._

 _Severely_

 _"In the name of the Nidaime, what are you trying to do - kill me?" She watched as his laughter slowly died down and then glanced over at Asami who seemed to be enjoying the show herself._ Sadistic sacks of shite the lot of ya.

 _"Just teaching you to watch what you say."_

 _"Thanks, I appreciate it," Melody grumbled and glared as the white haired shinobi sage-ly drank his own Saki. "Now what do you need, ass." There were a couple of people here in this world that easily reminded her of people of a former life. Sakumo wasn't exactly just one person, he was more like a mix of all of her good friends...which turned out to be a good thing. She was growing to miss her old pals dearly around the time she literally ran into him._

 _"I need you to watch Kakashi and his friend as I take on a mission."_

 _"Done."_

 _"You didn't ask for how long? And if I do recall you despise kids."_

 _"I think I can manage a child genius and his snot nosed friend."_

* * *

It was supposed to be super easy, Kakashi was a self-maintaining kid. Hell, he had been when she had first met him, the idjit was a bloody genius for the love of all things sweet and delicious! He was entered into the academy at four and graduated a year later! If that wasn't proof enough she didn't know what was! Heck before she had retreated to her, now almost dry, cocoon from the world she was trying to think of how she may have pissed the kid off! Never had she expected that watching Hatake Kakashi, the to be master of a thousand Jutsu, Copy Cat Ninja would be more difficult than the missions she took on. _Noted, the fucker had the element of surprise because I wasn't expecting it and blamed the first few on Obito._

First there had been the wrap around the toilet, that was a nasty but clever prank. She had proceeded to take that one off and check the other just to be sure.

Then she walked into the kitchen and found them eating candy apples one was set aside for her. She bit into it...it wasn't an apple.

She then really had to go potty and both of them were showering in the two bathrooms... for two hours.

She had to stop Obito from eating out of the trashcan...eight times.

She found five of her kunai in curious places... all of them in a different desert.

She tried to make breakfast... the eggs were all boiled already. That was a confusing endeavor.

It just got worse from there. So she went and played possum, in turn they dumped water over her.

"Kakashi."

"Yes."

"I'm going to kill your father."

"Why?" Melody couldn't explain to the five-year-old genius or not that his father was a conniving little shite and she was aware that the only reason Kakashi and his friend would be anything but angels was because he -Sakumo- had put them up to all of this. She was coming to the slow realization that Sakumo Hatake was possibly about as evil as she was when it came to pranking of course. It was beginning to dawn on the former SGT that this man was likely her biggest rival in the world of pranks.

"Oba-san?"

"You and Obito have an hour to clean this mess up. If I lurk out of my den and this mess is still here..." _Sakumo, you betrayed me?_ "No one in the history of torture's been tortured with torture like the torture you'll be tortured with."

This meant war.

* * *

 **Ending Notes:**

So I know this is technically late. I promise two chapters for this upcoming week. Good news is I may have another author who may be writing her characters mishaps in this world. (Yes this is turning into a collaboration, no I am not accepting anyone else yet.)

This is one of my shorter, crappier chapters... honestly I had no inspiration for this...but my next chapter though.

Oh man

 **Updated 091215**


	12. Chapter 11

_Sakumo was well aware that Emi here hadn't any children of her own or held any desire to have any to this day. She never seemed to run out of stories about children and how they rubbed her the wrong way or were just ill raised. The Hatake had to admit that wherever it was Emi was from before she arrived at Konoha he had no intention of going there himself._

 _Though that didn't mean that he was not curious._

 _Apparently she had been brought to Konoha as a young teen but her transition and experiences of her time before were not something she nor the Hokage_ wanted to be mentioned _. There were still plenty of things that he wanted to know about her, she was_ unique _and didn't quite fit any mold to the T. It was obvious that whatever events that lead up to her transfer into Konoha left a lasting mark on her, Sakumo only wished he knew her while growing up… a task that would have been difficult since she had been trained to join the force since she had arrived._

 _It was odd, normally no matter who he looked at he could get a good vibe of what kind of child and teen they may have been. Emi here, perhaps like many other children who were secluded and set aside to be one of Konoha's Special Tools, was an exception. The woman seemed much too old for her age, she also seemed to have great control on what she wanted others to see._

 _That was something he both admired and worried about._

 _"Seriously though Sakumo, Kakashi knows how to take care of himself for the most part. What brought this sudden urge?" He couldn't help but roll his eyes as she leaned back into her booth seat, there was one thing Sakumo Hatake was almost a hundred percent positive about when it came to Emi._

 _Her uncanny ability to know when something was up bothered a lot of the people she worked with._

 _"Call it a parent's intuition." He smiled rubbing the back of his neck, "There is just something about all of this that is rubbing me the wrong way." That seemed to have gotten the females attention before that far away look plagued her face once more. That was another thing, Emi seemed to always know a lot more than what she led on. Though he wasn't completely sure on what her relationship with the Hokage was, it was obvious that he trusted her and while she may not completely trust him Emi was extremely loyal to the village._

 _Sakumo's gut wretched more and more as the minutes ticked by. It would seem that his parental intuition was onto something._

 _Now if only he could talk about the mission itself._

 _"Do what you see fit and keep true to yourself." Her voice knocked him out of his own thoughts and while he wanted to pretend he couldn't see the worry, hurt and knowing look she was trying hard to cover up...he couldn't. She knew something about this, or at least her instincts too seemed to tell her something was up. "I'll keep the idjit alive." She added with a smirk, "What's the worst that can happen?"_

 _There were not too many things that bothered Sakumo Hatake, but watching as his comrade downed dango stick after dango stick then order four plates more was definitely on the list right below watching her down bowl after bowl of Miso Ramen. He knew, with the amount of time they had spent in each other's company that Emi didn't live off of the stuff. She was known to be seen walking around with an apple of two in passing and ate a good portion of vegetables with their meals eight times out of ten._

 _But there were days like this and he wasn't too sure how she didn't get sick._

 _"You have any siblings?" That stopped the brunette from snatching up another stick of dango. He watched as she seemed to think it over for all but a second._

 _"No." Since she hadn't asked him why he was asking he knew it was alright to continue._

 _"Did you have any?" He watched as she finished chewing the first of three Chadangos._

 _"Yes." She was answering curtly, meaning at least she was considering sharing the information._

 _"What happened to them?" This time he had to wait for her to finish her last ball before she spoke up. He knew next to nothing about the female and her family life before she was an orphan here. It bothered him, but not enough for him to bring it up before now. Or at least as suddenly as he had._

 _"I do not honestly know."_

* * *

"What I want to know is _why_ they didn't attack." Kushina grumbled as they stood before the Hokage. Minato hadn't picked up on them being tailed until Kushina had brought it up in their conversation on the walk back, apparently Akihiro hadn't but didn't seem too bothered by the fact either. "They could have very well originally thought that we had somehow gotten that scroll to where or who it was supposed to go to." Minato would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised that Kushina picked up on the shinobi tailing them, but the fact of the matter was that he was. He didn't know too much about Konoha's Red Hot Habenero's full potential, but he was aware that Team 5 was supposed to be some sort of specialized team when they were originally assigned together.

"Up until you began tossing it around." Minato agreed with a frown returning his thoughts to the mission at hand, there were too many things about it that just didn't seem to make sense. Or made too much sense. The fact of the matter was that this mission went about as possibly as well as it could have gone and that bothered him. What had bothered him most was the fact that a whole village was just gone upon their arrival. How it was something like that could go on without some sort of information coming back seriously irked him. It wasn't some quickly done botched job either, the only things left standing were some of the frames of the houses that was not burnt with the rest of it or possibly selectively left behind. At this point, he was convinced that everything there was staged.

He wouldn't have thought too much about it if both Kushina and Akihiro didn't have such a haunted look at the remains of the small town. Both of them were trying their hardest to cover it up, but the fact of the matter was that he was smart and observant enough to notice.

The fact of the matter was that while he heard rumors and third to fourth-hand tales of some of their missions and even hung out with them on occasion. Minato knew next near to nothing personally about their background aside of what was common knowledge. He knew that Kushina's home village met a similar fate, but he didn't know where she was when it happened. While details on Uzushiogakure and Kushina's childhood were far and few between any information on Akihiro was completely wiped it would seem before he showed up and he didn't talk about it. But the way he reacted to the scene in a similar fashion as Kushina had him betting that perhaps his home too was met by a similar fate.

Then there was _that_ new piece of information he was privy to.

* * *

 _"If that is not a stupid question then I don't know what is." Minato blanched as Akihiro blatantly laughed and Kushina looked over at him with a knowing smirk. "I mean you are supposed to be our generations child genius or whatever, no? You have to have pieced two and two together by now." This was not exactly how he imagined this scenario playing out, heck none of his scenarios came even close to this. He expected anger, resentment, a joke? But this, no... he definitely didn't expect this._

 _"I think he was trying to verify his own opinions Kushina." Surprisingly Akihiro was still rolling in laughter, Minato had to admit he looked much more approachable now than he had ever seemed in the past. "Give the kid a break."_

 _"What am I supposed to do? Spell it out for him?" The kunoichi looked like she wanted to punch someone, specifically him. "I mean I know that a lot of information is on lockdown and I don't expect many to be able to figure it out on their own. Aside of Shikaku, but let us be honest he's scary smart. But Minato has been there through very selective and specific events that would lead anyone to believe what I am sure he does. If we were back in the village I'd had hit him upside the head with something and verified the obvious."_

 _Well, if that wasn't an answer then he didn't know what was._

 _And now he could agree and say that being referred to as if you were not there was annoying._

* * *

Minato Namikaze didn't know what kind of specialized team Team 5 was supposed to be, but if Kushina and Akihiro were any proof of how well the full team could have complimented one another... Konoha lost a damn good team.

"I know our experiences with C-ranked missions haven't been good since Kiko-sensei went missing," Kushina began interrupting him from his own musings, "but this went too according to plan, ya know."

They watched as the Third smoked his pipe and nodded, "I understand your concerns and they have been noted." The elder began, "Your mission is a success though and you will be called upon when you are needed. This mission is not to be discussed with anyone outside of this room." That gained his attention, " You are dismissed."

"Hai."

The door had shut behind him as Kushina groaned out, "Do you see what I mean?" Minato looked to Akihiro who was looking at him. Apparently they were both unaware of what their red-haired teammate was going on about.

"Stacks and stacks of paperwork!" He watched with a smirk as she literally shuttered, "If that isn't hell then I don't want to know what is."

"Still not sure about whether you want the title or not."

"How does he even have time to train and maintain his level of awesomeness?" Kushina sounded legitimately curious about the question, "Where does he find the time? Where does any of the Kage? Especially during a war! I mean remember those mountains! I had nightmares of opening the Hokage's Office and being swallowed up by a river of paperwork, ya know."

"If anyone else said that I would call them on it-" Akihiro sighed, "but the fact of the matter is that is something you would dream about."

"Oi! What is that supposed to mean?"

"I am going to have to agree with Akihiro on this one." Minato laughed, "and now I have a pretty good idea of what sort of experience you have under a Genjutsu." Minato laughed harder when she flushed, scrunched her nose up and stormed off a couple paces ahead of them.

"It just wouldn't quite make sense."

"What wouldn't?" Minato asked having a good idea of where Akihiro was going with this.

"Kushina being afraid of something normal like heights, spiders or the dark."

"It would surely have made her shinobi career that much more difficult if she were afraid of any of those."

"Have to say I wasn't expecting an avalanche of paperwork though."

"I am right here, ya know!" Both Akihiro and he laughed. "Don't talk about me like I am not there. It's annoying and rude."

* * *

"I absolutely adore that you are way mature for your age Kakashi." The Hatake looked up from the book he was reading at the kitchen table and to their now uniformed babysitter. "I am sure you too will find that intellectual conversations are stimulating, I know I enjoy them. You will have so many opportunities to do good and help others." She then lifted the spatula from the scrambled eggs and pointed it directly at him, "But young mister that also means you will understand and likely care deeply for some things and people. This maturity will make you more prone to depression and detachment. And those- being someone who has been used to things coming naturally to you- you will find it harder than most to overcome those battles. Everyone has difficulty with them, geniuses and prodigies have been conquered by them."

"Have you been drinking?" He watched as she leaned forward and wholeheartedly laughed her long brunette curls rolling over her shoulder and bounced with the motion. She then turned back to the stove, "You typically only talk to me like this after you have been drinking."

"It doesn't mean that's the only time I think about it or want to talk to you about it." She admitted looking back at him with a smile, "It's hard to look at you and know that there is a young adult's mind in that child body of yours...even for me." She paused and frowned, "I want nothing more than to keep you all to myself and never let you out of my sights. But I know better. A child's mind needs stimulation and those who are gifted... even more so. I just know it also means that you are growing up quick and in a sense I am going to have to let go all the quicker."

"And you are positive you haven't been drinking."

"I have a mission." She chuckled turning off the stove before bringing the eggs over in the pan. She shoved some of them onto his plate in front of him and then onto the empty plate for his guest who had yet to have awoken. She placed the pan back on the stove before attending to the mounds of rice she had cooked and began balling them.

"Ah." Kakashi had figured as much when he walked in earlier and found her over the stove in her gear. A part of him was still hoping that she had one the previous night and just hadn't the time to change before breakfast. "How long?"

"Hopefully I will be back before your father." The uniform was on, but she wasn't in that mindset yet. He looked from her and to the mask that was placed around her waist. It wasn't a full mask like every other he had seen around the village, he knew that it's difference from the others meant that she was different than all of the others. What she did. He didn't know. But he remembered seeing her as a child, those brown eyes shadowed with black staring down at him from behind those sockets, a caring small smile showering down on him.

"I smell breakfast." Obito chirped as he walked into the kitchen clad still in his PJ's. "Oba-sans breakfast is da best!" Kakashi watched in mild interest and disgust as Obito downed his food. Just as it looked like was going to clear his plate she hovered and dropped two Onigiri on their plates. It was at this moment when Kakashi realized just how natural the two of them looked. For a split moment, he felt what he could only assume was jealousy rumble inside him before he reminded himself that Obito was like a brother.

An annoying brother, but apparently that's what younger siblings are... annoying.

Emi had been the one, according to his father, that introduced them at a young age. Or rather she had been taking care of Obito since the Uchiha had apparently left him and his gran on their own around the time that she and his father began hanging out. Kakashi wasn't too sure if either Obito or Emi were a blessing or a curse. They tended to float either way depending on the day.

"Another mission Obasan?"

"I don't have to be looking at you to know that you are talking with your mouth full Obito." The Uchiha gulped down his food and stared incredulously at her back as she washed her hands and put her hair up. Kakashi chuckled when she turned around and she was glaring at him in a very maternal matter, then the glare shifted to him and he began to nonchalantly eat his meal.

Technically he hadn't done anything wrong, right?

It was amusing how the tables had turned from the first night. This was likely as close to a functioning family as he was going to get.

And frankly he wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

Ending Notes:  
I wasn't expecting to take this long to put up the first of the two chapters for this week. I also haven't updated the last two awfully written chapters. I promise I am getting there.

I had fun writing this.

 **Updated 091215**


	13. Chapter 12

**_Author's Notes:_** _I apologize ahead of time. The Ending Notes on this chapter are massive!  
I also had a hard time thinking of how exactly I wanted this chapter to play out.  
Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

 _"I need a favor."_ Kushina jumped and choked on the ramen she was downing at the sudden voice in her mind. _"It's like a **big** favor and something I **should** have mentioned before this but didn't think that it would happen so soon-"_

 _"Breath Mels, Breath."_ Kushina thought back as she waved and smiled at Teuchi who was looking at her with something akin to paternal worry.

 _"Sakumo."_ Kushina's heart dropped, she knew the moment she heard the news that it was only a matter of time before Melody would ask about it.

Honestly when she had first heard she was worried for the soldier who had been quiet for a week straight. Even when she was out on missions Melody was known to show up in their mind and the two of them would discuss one thing or another. Lately much at Kushina's expense Minato had been the topic of interest to the brunette. Melody would keep up this habit of theirs when she had free time during a mission. While she had never admitted it out loud Kushina was positively sure that Melody thought of their mental conversations as a way to know that the other was alright.

What had surprised Kushina that she was not the only one worried about Mel's reaction to Sakumo's current predicament.

She had been minding her own business when she got word that the Hokage had wanted to speak with her. Since it was the Hokage she had downed her Ramen and made her way to his office. Not a fan of his current clerk she had ignored whatever it was the shinobi was telling her and had unintentionally walked into the tail end of the old man speaking with what looked like a miniature version of Sakumo who had a black haired friend with him- she didn't hear anything, but she could tell, more through the black haired (obviously Uchiha) kid than the Hatake, that something was bothering them both.

* * *

 _"Have you heard from Emi?" That instantly made the baby hairs on the back of Kushina's neck and arms stand on end. Originally the deal was that Emi aka Mels would send in a report daily while she was out patrolling, but that had been the deal years ago. Apparently sometime after the war had ended Kushina had been jolted awake when Melody was thrown back into her mind. She had rushed to the Hokage's Office with information about Mel's last encounter and it was there where she had been informed that the rules of the game had changed._

 _Now Emi was to keep her memories locked away from Kushina, something they had been doing the whole time but the Hokage didn't quite know that yet, The Third had apparently found that Emi was useful but didn't want those missions to interfere with Kushina's development. Additionally she already had a large enough target on her back with being Kurama's keeper, if the other nations found out that she was also Emi it would bring more attention to her than what she already had and that was not what the Third wanted._

 _This was the first time she was being called in about Emi since then and that worried her._

 _"I haven't heard anything," She answered honestly, "Should I try and get a hold of her?" It was obvious her whereabouts were important to the Third. He hadn't offered her a greeting of any sort when she walked in._

It was straight to business.

 _"That is unnecessary." She couldn't help herself, Kushina looked at the Hokage as if he had grown a second head._ Why bother calling me? _She thought just as the elder spoke._ " _What is your relationship with Sakumo Hatake?" Kushina blanched, surely the Hokage wasn't insinuating-"I ask because it would seem that a certain clone of yours…" There it was that gleam in his eyes that came up_ every time _he spoke about this ability of theirs. "Has been seen constantly with our very own White Fang and son included." Kushina was talking the moment he paused._

 _"After the incident with Obito and his parents," She retreated inward as she spoke not daring look the Hokage in the eye, "I may have befriended the Hatake's through them. But I promise you that there is nothing else going on." The way the Third gave her a knowing look and smirk made Kushina believe that he didn't completely believe her. "I look up to him as a ninja, ya know!" She grabbed a good chunk of her hair,_ this was way worse than when we questioned Mel's! _She thought. "He's a living legend, ya know." Mentally Kushina was thinking of ways to get back at Melody for getting her in this situation. "I mean Emi seems to prefer his company, but I don't think that means anything ya know. I thought it was just because those were the people she was used to dealing with, ya know. Older people. Not that I have anything against older people Hokage-sama. You guys are the best! I admire a lot of you, ya know." The soldier had given her just enough information to make this whole situation awkward and something told Kushina that Mels had done this **intentionally**. "And when I say admire I don't mean-"_

 _"Calm down Kushina." The Third laughed, genuinely laughed and Kushina blinked twice. He almost looked more like the Third she had seen through Melody's memories when he laughed like that. She was sure she was flushed and the piece of her hair she had grabbed was now frazzled with the number of times she had run her hand through it. "If you hear anything about Emi or on the off chance Sakumo you are to inform me right away."_

 _"Hai."_

 _"You are dismissed."_

 _Little did she know that just two days later word of Sakumo's mission would reach **everyone's** ears._

* * *

 _"How is he holding up?"_ Kushina paid for her Ramen and left the shop waving Teuchi goodbye as she did so. If they were going to have **this** conversation she was going to need to find somewhere where she could retreat into the confines of their mind.

 _"You knew?"_ With dusk on the horizon, the streets of Konoha were slowly emptying. It would only be a matter of time before she and a select few would be out prowling in the darkness. Her apartment was nearby, but a quick scan of the area informed her that a certain Uchiha and blondaime were waiting outside of her home for her. It had been weeks since she had heard from Melody and Kushina knew that the chances of them having another encounter could be slim to none. Apparently Mel's had informed the young Hatake that she had anticipated arriving home before his father had…

He had been home for two weeks now.

 _"Of course I knew, but this was not something we could meddle with Shina."_ This was one of those few times Kushina really wished that the soldier would share her information. _"Albeit I really, **really** wanted to."_ For some reason, Melody had sealed away any and everything that had to do with this time period. Kushina knew that technically she wouldn't have known about it to begin with, but knowing that her future was within the deepest recesses of her mind severely bothered her.

The only thing that bothered her more than that was knowing that there was a **reason** as to why Melody had locked them up.

 _"I only see him in passing Mels."_ Finally after a couple of minutes to get to the training grounds Kushina was able to sit under a tree and retreat into their mind. "Melody, what the fuck?"

For her wounds to be showing in their mindscape, "Don't worry about me." The soldier laughed, "It's not as bad as it looks."

"They've sealed your chakra away!" Now that they were in the same room, for lack of better word, it was easier for Kushina to connect the dots. "That's why I haven't been able to feel you as of late."

"That sounds **soooo** weird when you put it that way." The brunette laughed as she shook her head, "Look I just need to know. How long ago did Sakumo show up."

"Two weeks. How long have you been like this?"

"Shite I need to get out of here quick." Kushina glared when her question wasn't answered, she wasn't a complete idiot and knew quite a bit about the soldier. By her not sharing that little piece of information Kushina was well aware that she had been stuck, wherever the hell she was, for quite some time now.

"Where are you?" Melody looked over at her and Kushina knew exactly what was coming next with that glare.

"You're crazy if you think I am going to tell you where I am after they did this to me. Crazy."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, I have a couple of options."

"Did you try using the Kyuubi?"

"That's the problem," Melody grumbled crossing her arms.

"Why?"

"Because of my connections with the two of you," She pointed agitatedly at the redhead and the fox, "they were able to deduce I had high reserves. It's one of the reasons I believe I have to thank as to why I am alive." She paused, "That was a Kami-awful sentence… anyway, who are the only people who have ridiculously high -like off the chart high, reserves?"

"Shit."

"And if they were to find out I had access to a certain Fox's?"

"Well, they would think you were his host."

"And once word gets out you are."

"Shit."

"Is there any way for them to be able to tell which beast you have?"

"Why do you think I look like this, a simple Q and A didn't do this." Melody snapped flailing her arms around.

"I was just asking," Kushina growled as she rolled her eyes, "No need for the claws."

"Luckily a certain red haired kunoichi I know can easily summon me back now."

"Easily...riiiiight."

"I am not saying you have to do it right away…" The brunette smiled, "Though I wouldn't be complaining if that were the case."

"You could just disperse." Kushina offered. They hadn't quite created or found a situation in which Melody would willingly disperse herself while out in the middle of a mission. She was of more use to them out there dealing with the enemy than just retreating back. The two of them did agree that if for whatever reason she found a good enough reason to come back, she would.

"You know that is not an option. More now so than ever." Kushina grumbled out a couple of more expletives. "This is one of those...for Hokage eyes only sort of deals."

"Fine."

"Fine? When did you become so~" She paused, "Okay I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. No rush, concentrate and try to bring me back home. I am sure they have plans for me until then."

Once again Kushina was alone. This time, the smell of lilies and the ocean were polluted with wretched smell iron.

She didn't like that one bit.

* * *

She didn't like to admit it, but sometimes getting ahold of Kushina could prove to be more annoying than those tedious D-ranked missions she had been forced back onto since her engagement. Most the time if you wanted to know where the kunoichi was your best shot was to meet with Teuchi at the Ramen Shop, apparently Kushina spoke more to him than she did to her teammate or the blonde she had with her at the moment. "And you have no idea where she would be?"

"None, she hadn't mentioned any specific plans that she had made when I last spoke with her." Minato and Akihiro were your next bet. If she was in the village and not on a mission then typically the two of them had a good idea on what she was doing around town. The problem, well it had been some time since Kushina had been given more than a couple of days off. That and she hadn't been paired up with either of them for her last mission.

There was no need for two Chunin ranked shinobi to help the Yamanaka's organize their flowers.

What surprised Mikoto the most was that instead of the Yamanaka's specifically asking for Kushina it had been the other way around. Or at least that's how the Chunin handing out missions had explained it to her. Mikoto was still trying to decide on if he was messing with her or not.

"When was the last time you spoke with her?" Mikoto wasn't stupid, she knew long before even Kushina did that her fiery red-haired friend had a thing for the quiet blond in their class. Just as Mikoto decided to use this little piece of information as some sort of teasing, Kushina had run through the Uchiha compound and pounded on her door before admitting to her father, who had answered the door, about her sudden had seen Kushina blush before but never had she seen her turn redder than her hair until that day.

 _Kushina really needs to work on knocking._

"Two days ago." Mikoto glanced over at her best friends love interest and arched a brow; if there were anyone who could find Kushina it typically was Minato. He was seriously losing credibility as the minutes ticked by. "We grabbed some Ramen and then she ran off talking about having to study some more or something.

"Study?"

"Yeah, her Fūinjutsu. It's quite interesting when looking at it from a theoretical view." Mikoto arched a brow, but Minato was too gone in his thoughts to notice. "I've only read up on what I could find in the Library, which wasn't nearly as detailed as some of the things she has shown me. I am convinced that you could pretty much find a seal to get the same results a Jutsu would, even better sometimes." Now she crossed her arms, "From how she explained it so long as you can come up with the idea and knew enough about how Seals work... there is no real reason as to why you couldn't come up with something new."

"How are you two not dating yet?" That got a reaction, he blanched. "Seriously. The two of you talk with the same amount of passion about the same things. You practically have been looking out for her since she showed up in the academy. You saved her life and she has returned the favor. What could possibly be keeping the two of you apart, aside of your complete obliviousness to the fact that the two of you care dearly about the other." Minato seemed to be at a loss of words and she couldn't rightly blame him. Compared to most of her fellow Clansmen, Mikoto was known to be kinder. That was not to say that the Uchiha were not kind, contrary to common belief it was the opposite. Many of them cared too deeply and that is why they all wore a stoic mask. This could have very well been the first time she had spoken to Namikaze in this tone, therefore he had every right to be looking at her like he was.

"W-what?" Apparently she had broken him.

"Nothing, where exactly does Kushina go or do when she is not on a mission."

"Y-you are making me sound like a stalker." He laughed obviously thankful for the slight change in subject as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd ask you the same thing if I were in your shoes."

"We've already checked Ichiraku." Mikoto thought out loud, completely ignoring his remarks. "I suggest we go to the mission office and ensure that she hasn't gone and taken up a mission since we had last seen her."

"That is something a bored Kushina would do, but Akihiro asked her not to." Minato frowned and Mikoto couldn't exactly gauge out the meaning behind his eyes. "She doesn't go back on her word, so I doubt that is the case." There was something about the way he decided to answer her that annoyed Mikoto, she couldn't tell you what it was, but she had an urge to hit him upside the head.

Really hard.

"Fine." She brought her hand up to her face and let out a sigh, "The only other place I could think of is the training grounds."

"It has been some time since I had last seen her there, but at this point it's better than nothing." Again there was that urge.

"Lead the way."

* * *

 _It's been two in a half weeks since anyone has seen Emi._ Sakumo thought as he shared a meal with his son. It had been two weeks since he had returned from the mission, already he could hear the whispers down the streets and the glares as he walked by. He had read and even heard from other shinobi about how the public's view could change one a dime, he had even seen it a couple of times after major battles turned against them but never had he experienced it on such a personal level. When all of this started he was convinced that so long as his son didn't view him as the public did then he would get over this, it had already been two weeks though and he could feel the weight bear down on his shoulders as the people he chose to save also turned their back on him.

 _Do what you see fit and keep true to yourself._

Those had been the words that gave him the push to pull out of the mission. They were shinobi, they knew the risks it had been ingrained into them since they stepped out of the academy. At the same time, you were trained to trust your superior to do what was best for the village, the mission, and their subordinates. As a Genin you relied on your sensei to get them home in one piece; in a sense that nativity carried over in every shinobi as they progressed through the ranks. There were whispers of people no one wanted to work under because the mission always came first, even if it was obvious it would fail. Then there were the others who were looked up to for being able to make that call or improvise and get the best possible outcome with what they were handed. Sakumo was betting and even hoping that they would understand that.

At the very least that his team would understand that.

But this was different.

And he knew that.

This call could have very well thrown Konohagakure into a Third Shinobi War. They were already on the precipice of war. He knew going in just how life-changing this mission was. This was one of those missions that the village could not afford to fail, it was why they sent their best at it. It was why he was put in charge and what did he do.

He just killed every shinobi that would inevitably die in this upcoming war.

Sakumo's eyes slowly moved up from the paper laying next to his plate to his son who was finishing off his meal. _I could have just killed my son and everyone else I hold dear._ He shook his head knowing that logically this didn't just fall onto his shoulders. There was a whole slew of reasons as to why he was put in the position he had been in. It wasn't as if he woke up that morning with the intention of throwing the village into another Shinobi War. He had lived through the second one and had no intention or desire to put his only son through the same thing.

What he needed now was someone to tell him that he had done the right thing.

Hatake's were not known for leaning on people, people were known for leaning on them. At this moment though Hatake Sakumo wanted nothing more than a certain brunette haired kunoichi to come in through their window and announce her return. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around both her and his son. With the both of them at his side he knew that he could make it through this, he could make it through another war so long as he had those two to come back home to. After he explained that to them he could already hear her sigh as a small smile graced her lips. She would surely inform him of just how illogical that dream was and explain that if there were another war than the likeliness of all three of them being on the front lines were phenomenally high. Kakashi would surely agree, they would all share a laugh and all would be well with the world.

He couldn't even begin to tell you when exactly he began having to rely on her. Had she not requested him specifically as a partner they could have very well gone their whole lives without crossing paths. When he had asked her why she wanted him specifically even though she knew nothing about him she explained that his reputation preceded him and she just had a feeling that he was just the guy she would need to get the job done. He had his concerns about the woman whose scent he didn't outright recognize, but with a nudge from the Third their beautiful friendship blossomed.

It was easy for him to spot her out after that mission; while he had never seen her face during those three weeks he had become used to her scent. When he picked up that soft barely noticeable scent of lilies with the slightest hint the ocean in the bar, you could say he was surprised. He was only looking out for the guys as they drank that night and was nursing some water when she walked over and ordered a water of her own. He was sure that she did that intentionally and when he tapped her on the shoulder and was greeted by those doe brown eyes with that predatory-like gaze just barely concealed- Sakumo Hatake knew he had found his partner. As they talked it became apparent that she had more than her fair share of drinks. She had just returned from another mission and needed to let loose before hitting the hay.

The meeting after that he ran into her with a black haired youngin, she didn't seem the mothering type and quickly explained she was babysitting for a friend.

After that, he couldn't and didn't want to shake her.

As time passed on and she got over her demons he found himself opening up to her about things he never thought he'd be able to talk to anyone about. She had a unique view on things and the two of them bounced ideas off one another, it was safe to say that in the few years he had known her Emi had become a close friend to the Hatake. A feat she joked she should get awarded for since everyone could claim to know and even talk to Konoha's White Fang but apparently very few had the privilege of calling him a friend.

That was right the powerful Sakumo Hatake, Konoha's White Fang was finding it harder and harder to believe that he made the right call out on the battlefield. He wanted to know that he had done the right thing and set the right example for his son and at this point he had no one he could turn to. The only thing worse than the people whispering on the streets was the little voice in the back of his own head telling him that shinobi, especially those of her standard, simply **did not** go missing for two weeks. And he couldn't help but fear that the little voice in the back of his head could be right and that...

He could have killed her with the very decision he wanted to talk with her about.

* * *

 **Ending Notes:** There are going to be quite a bit down here... I just wanted to clear some things up. I promise that you read about 3900 words of pure story, though.

At the end of the next couple chapters, I will (try to remember to) put some information about the cast to clear some things up. Most of the things I have left vague have been done so with good reason and I promise that this whole Clone business with Melody and Kushina will be explained in future chapters.

Before I get started I love the reviews guys, seriously you guys are my inspiration most of the time. I get a review and I am all "alright time to think of what we are going to do next." I also promise to continue to look for errors and fix them along as this story progresses, thank you for the understanding there!

We'll have a short explanation of Team 5 followed by some tips on Mel.

* * *

 **Kushina** : the Same appearance as Cannon, surprised to find Melody in her mind - due to this she is developing slightly differently than in canon. Keeps being a jinchūriki and Melody secret.  
 **Manabu** : No description given was killed by Akihiro under Saodo's mind control techniques  
 **Akihiro** : Plum hair and the other survivor of the fatal C-ranked mission forced to kill Manabu under Saodo's mind control techniques. His background is not known other than his haunted expression at the remains of the burnt down town.  
 **Kiko** : Team 5's original sensei - has only been mentioned  
 **Eiji** : Replacement Jōnin for Kiko. He was an Anbu killed by false Eiji on his way back from a mission.  
 **False Eiji** : Name not given, Took on Eiji's appearance after killing him. Actual appearance green eyes and blond hair. Status: Iwa-nin, killed by Kushina.

* * *

 _Melody was just a soldier who was doing the best she could to keep her friends alive in the middle of_ war _. After another shite mission gone wrong. Melody woke up in the middle of a claustrophobic room with a confused redhead staring at her and watching familiar scenes play outside of her prison._

 _Not one who enjoys having nothing to do and having just come out of a war zone Melody hadn't the time to really think too much into what was happening and continues to 'react to contact' to the best of her ability._

 _[ More information on how Melody feels/felt about this sudden change along with her backstory will be shared as she allows Kushina into more and more of her memories. ]_

 _Melody and Kushina hit it off for the most part and given what information Melody has shared they begin to make plans for the future._

 _[ How this comes along will be shared later, just remember Kushina is Kushina and she is stubborn. ]_

 _The deal with the Hokage has sort of been mentioned in previous chapters but will be fully explained later. (Good news is that these Flashbacks aren't like the show where you have already seen the episode, they are completely new to you readers.)_

* * *

Next chapter will have most the other characters who have been mentioned in the story thus far!

 **Updated 091715**


	14. Chapter 13

If there was anything that could have possibly gone wrong it did in these last two months.

Everything seemed to have started to roll downhill for the Third after he sent Konoha's White Fang out even though his consciousness told him it was not a good idea. Then two days after that he was forced to send out Emi, an anomaly he was still unsure about, on a mission simply because he was more willing to send a 'clone' of one of his shinobi rather than an actual body out to their death. In the days to follow his own students began sending back unusual reports from their own posts. On top of all of this, relations with the other nations were not proceeding how he would have liked. In response, The Council was growing restless and the village still had to be run.

The only thing that seemed to be going in his favor was the fact that Mitokado and Utatane seemed to look favorably and highly upon their newest member.

It was safe to say that Hiruzen had quite a bit he had to deal with.

So it wasn't until a certain prodigy and his friend walked in that he noticed just how much time had passed since he had sent out his best shinobi and clone.

Sadly it wasn't until the second time they came in that he acted on it.

Sakumo Hatake was not known for being tardy to anything, but this was a mission of the greatest importance and he knew that the allotted amount of time may have been too little. Kushina's clone, also known as, Emi's mission had an indefinite amount of time set aside to get it done, there were too many unknown and deciding factors that could be working against her for him to willingly give her time constraint. This wasn't the first time he had sent her out on a mission without a constraint, but it was the first time such a mission could directly affect Konoha. Having not given her any order to send back constant reports he hadn't expected to hear from her for some months.

He had expected the Hatake prodigy to come in asking about his father, many children of single parents often went straight to him.

What he hadn't expected was a recently orphaned Uchiha to be in tow.

 _Or_ for the **both** of them to ask about his masked anomaly.

Getting a hold of Sakumo was out of the question, he had explained that to the younger Hatake and meant every word of it. The village couldn't chance correspondence between them and those out on his team. Hiruzen was positive that while the Uchiha may not have completely understood, Kakashi did and understood just how important this mission was.

Emi was a different story, though.

While there was some truth to Kushina's explanation for Emi, he knew that there was much more to this than possibly the two of them were aware of. He hadn't had time to set aside and completely pan out just what exactly he thought of this 'portion of Kushina's consciousness' in detail, but she had proved time and time again that she was trustworthy and loyal to the village. At first glance, it appeared that Kushina and Emi were one in the same, but as he spent more time with them separately Hiruzen quickly noticed their differences. And while this was a blessing, with Kushina being the Nine-Tailed Fox's host it was not only his job and Duty as the Third Hokage to keep an eye on this situation but also figure out if perhaps there had been a breach between the two.

Said host had walked in on the back end of his third meeting with Sakumo's son and Uchiha Obito a child that, if he understood him correctly, looked up to Kushina's clone as a sort of Aunt like figure. Having gained quite a bit of information from the younger children Hiruzen took it upon himself to prod more into the relationship Kushina had with Emi along with building and understanding of the brunette in question.

Fortunately Konoha's White Fang arrived a couple days after this unfortunately, the mission was not a success. Hiruzen had read all the reports pertaining to his mission and knew that while Sakumo had done the right thing... with the village where it stood now others would not see it that way and there would be repercussions.

War with Iwa was on the horizon and he wasn't too sure how much longer he could delay this inevitable encounter.

As expected opinions on Konoha's White Fang diminished.

What surprised, even Hiruzen, was the fact that the very people Sakumo had saved too had turned against the Jōnin.

There was nothing he could rightly do about the situation and even though information about the mission had not been released somehow the public seemed to be siding with his Council. Had the situation been different he could play one side against the other and save the reputation of one of their greatest shinobi...but this was not the case. The only thing the Third could do was pull Sakumo aside and speak with him. He had done his best to explain that he understood and even agreed that the Jōnin had done the right thing, but with his status as the leader of the village and being a representation of the people Hiruzen was almost positive that Sakumo looked at the whole meeting as something he, Hiruzen, had to do to ensure that he, Sakumo, was capable of doing future missions.

To put it simple, the Third believed that Hatake Sakumo looked at their little heart-to-heart as nothing more than a post-mission follow up and didn't believe that he was speaking from the bottom of his heart.

Now Hiruzen _knew_ this was the case.

 _It was a sad day in Konoha._

He lasted months and did his duty as a shinobi, but in the end Konoha's White Fang took his own life last night.

Hiruzen didn't have the privilege of saying that he didn't see the signs for it was obvious that the man was spiraling downhill. It was obvious even in the short encounters he had with the Hatake when he turned in or accepted missions directly from him. Hiruzen was sure that Kakashi, the young Hatake, had done what he could to try and keep his father going. Even as his father descended into the abyss he had shared a couple of things with the leader of the Leaf, including his pride over his son's accomplishments. At the same time even when Kakashi, a prodigy without a set team, had come in Hiruzen could easily see the pride and adoration the young Hatake had in regards to his father.

It was sad that this bond between the two wasn't enough to stop what had transpired.

When he had received news of the incident Hiruzen had to stop himself from being upset over the fact that the village had lost one of their best shinobi in these darkening times. He had to stop and remember that this was a man who had done everything and given everything within his power to the village.

The Third donned on his ceremonial robes and exited the room.

* * *

Melody felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest as she neared the village with every jump. It had been a long time coming but finally she was returning home! She hadn't expected this mission to take as long as it had but the very fact that she was coming back was enough to ease away all of her concerns. Now she could finally get back with everyone she had come to care for since this whole she-bang had began. The only other thing she could have asked for was for the throbbing pain on the right side of her head to stop. But that was something she could easily ignore before she got it looked at by the medics.

Images of Kushina, Sakumo, Kakashi and Obito came to mind. Of course she would first have to run to the Hokage and inform him that her Shishou was fine and there was nothing to worry about, but then after that she was on her own. She could sit back, relax and spend time with the people she had come to miss.

"If only this bloody headache would seize." The brunette grumbled as she walked up to the village's main gate.

"Emi?" Doe brown eyes looked up from the scroll she couldn't recall taking out and up at the familiar voice, "Are you feeling alright?"

"She's likely just been out drinking again." Her sights narrowed in on the second voice and sent him a glare, "Don't look at me like that. You know it's true."

"What? Are you trying to insinuate that I drink while out on missions?" She didn't like the look either of them sent her,"What? I just got here...wait a minute." In an instant, the soldier was out of her chair at the table and glaring at the two Hatake. "The hell is this? What is going on here Sakumo?!"

" _I've seen you hanging around_ the village looking lost for the last couple days Emi. We all agreed; The Third, yourself and I, that it was best if you stayed with Kakashi and I to wind down." Something was **ungodly** _wrong_ here, Melody couldn't explain it to you, but she could feel it in her bones.

She was missing something _extremely important_

"You haven't been yourself lately," Kakashi admitted and it almost felt as if the kid was looking into her soul, "You were staying with Obito and his gran but you were causing more harm than good."

"Kakashi!" Sakumo snapped.

"No, no it's alright. I am just going to sit down in the living room for a moment. Excuse me." With that a very confused brunette left the dining room.

"Melody!"

"Kushina?" She hadn't expected to see the redhead here at their house. It wasn't as if they tried to avoid one another when they weren't one in the same, they just rarely had enough time off to hang out like normal people did. Plus it was easier to just retreat into their consciousness and speak.

"What did you fall asleep to Naruto again?"

"What?" Melody was blinded and had to blink away the glare from her eyes. In front of her was something she never thought she would see again, "What?"

"Can you do anything about _this darkness where I'm bound?"_ Sure enough on the screen in front of her she could make out Marionette being held down with what could only be a necromancers grasp.

"Y-yeah, give me a minute Mary." Melody frowned as old muscles were used once more and in a matter of seconds the necromancer was killed with a dagger to the back and their poor excuse for a healer was free. "How long have we been at this?"

"We're about thirty minutes into this one." Mary replied over the mic, "You've been quiet for most of it, a penny for your thoughts?"

"They're worth way more than that." The brunette joked with a chuckle. She could practically hear the blondes eyes rolling over the mic.

"I'd say just. But try and tell Uncle Sam that."

"Wait, what?" Mary was not one to jack up her sentences- No, she was one of those people who put thought into their words and were extremely articulate. Melody looked up to her because of it, how couldn't she when she was known for word vomiting? Mary had explained it was because of all the languages she was bouncing in her head, that things were bound to get a little mixed up. Hell, Mary had offered to tutor her at one point in time!

"There is all of that _and this black hole I've dug for me._ I am sure you of all people can understand 'Gale." Now she just wanted to punch someone, this was getting too bloody confusing. No longer was she looking into a screen, instead her vision was now darkened and she felt a familiar weight on her shoulders and back.

"Seb?" Turning around familiar hazel eyes stared back at her.

"How do you do it?" Melody looked over at her childhood best friend and wanted to cry. She could see the heat radiating off of the ground and back into the air, she could see the sweat rolling down his face. She remembered that building with the straw roof and that cloud in the sky that reminded her of a wolf howling.

She knew **exactly** where they were.

"Do what?" She knew exactly what he was going to say, she could tell you it verbatim. This was just after they had lost a whole squad and some when the bridge they were rolling over was taken out.

She **didn't** want to relive _this_.

* * *

It was hard for her to explain these last couple months.

Kushina brought a hand up to the rain falling in their darkened sorrowful mind-scape. ... _And silently within..._ She hadn't noticed when the clouds slowly began to appear, nor when they had begun to turn from the fluffy white to the sinister ominous gray color they held today. ...a _nd all you dream..._ What she had noticed was the sense of dread that seemed to slowly creep upon her in these last couple months since her talk with Mels. Day after day she tried to bring her comrade, her Yin back and with every attempt she was left with a growing sense of foreboding.

"You didn't even know him outcast, what are you doing here?" Kushina was brought of her mind and back to the funeral she felt obligated to attend. Violet eyes looked into an unfamiliar deep green pair and she couldn't help but feel like the woman was right. Hell had Mikoto not informed her she wouldn't have even known it was going on.

Even the Uchiha were here more out of formalities than anything else.

"She is here as my guest paying her respects to one of Konoha's finest." Mikoto defended w _ith_ her _hands touching_ the _skin_ of her own hand. Originally she had convinced herself that she was showing up because she knew that Melody would have wanted to be here and she could share the experience with her once she returned, but now being here... all of this felt more personal than it ever should have.

Looking up at his memorial photo Kushina couldn't help but feel like she had lost a friend.

She wanted to cry.

She couldn't help but feel like there must have been something she could have done, she felt as if she had not only let Sakumo down but Kakashi and Mel's as well.

Violet eyes roamed over to the sole Hatake survivor now alone in this world. She knew that in one sense she could understand what he was feeling, she had been alone herself. Sadly she had been alone due to the enemy taking away her home; to a degree so was he, but in the end she couldn't help but feel like the village and the people in it played just a vital role in all of this. Had this happened anytime before whatever the hell happened the whole freaking village would be here mourning the loss of on of Konoha's finest shinobi. Initially, Kushina couldn't believe the whispers on the streets, but after much prodding and digging Kushina was able to find a couple of seconds of memory confirming that this was something her other half was aware of.

With this piece of knowledge and the guilt, she felt off of Melody when they last spoke, well Kushina wasn't too sure who to believe anymore.

Sakumo was a great shinobi and the village wouldn't be where it was without him, both she and Melody believed that to be true. The rumors quickly evolved after his return and now at this point Kushina didn't know which one to believe... all of them sounded like treason, but the fact of the matter was that he was put on more missions by the Hokage after his return. Shinobi accused of treason were not given more missions they were put on trial, right?

There had to be more going on and while she had wanted severely to speak with the man in question she wasn't able to bring herself into doing so and now he was gone. He was gone and she knew it was going to kill Melody when she heard of it. _If only I were able to pull her back!_ Kushina clinched her fist as the ceremony began, cursing herself for once again being useless and unable to do what was asked of her.

She was brought away from her dark thoughts when Mikoto's hand tightened around her own. The Uchiha didn't look at her, but Kushina could feel the reassurance within her grasp. Following suit, Kushina looked up to the Hokage as he spoke but still heard nothing. Her eyes constantly wandered to the smiling shinobi in the frame and then over to her son, every time it felt as if she were ripping a piece of her heart out of her chest.

The ceremony was short and before she knew it Kushina found herself following a certain white haired shinobi.

"Why are you following me." This was nothing at all like the Kakashi Kushina had seen in Melody's memories. She recoiled back at his tone and couldn't help but wonder if this kid was the same as that aloof seemingly uncaring porn reading (because nothing would convince her otherwise) shinobi that Melody looked up to so fondly.

"I wanted to see if you would like to get some food." The young Hatake now turned to face her; the only thing that seemed to be similar to the man she had seen him as was that mask and that gravity defying hair. His eyes didn't hold indifference, they held what looked like hostility and anger and if she wasn't mistaken those two emotions were covering concern and pain. Then there was the whole fact she was looking into a pair of eyes and not a single eye.

The Hatake seemed to be evaluating her as well and it took everything in her to suppress not only a blush but a shudder. _He's only what? Five, Six? Why the hell is he looking at me under such scrutiny?!_ "You know Emi?"

"D-Did you just sniff me?" Her left eye twitched at the blatant intake of air.

"Answer my question."

"Yeah, I know Emi. We're practically sisters, ya know." She quickly replied, "Now answer mine."

"Yes. You smell mostly of the ocean but there is an undertone of Emi's scent-"

"Lilies." The Hatake nodded at her interruption. "My Inuzuka pal told me that apparently we are around one another so often we never quite shake the others scent." Kushina added scratching the back of her head.

"Sure."

"Wait, what?" The Hatake looked like he wanted nothing more than to walk away and be done with her. Surprisingly he let out a large sigh and spoke.

"I am hungry."

* * *

 **Ending Notes:** So most of this was typed up at a friends, I will do a full scan over it in the coming week for errors. Wooo todler-sitting!

Another thing! so I am away from my computer which has the character information I promised. Just check back here in a couple of days and it should be up!

I wanted to add more to this but with how chaotic my life is at the moment I am finding it hard to sit down and just come up with phenomenally superb chapters, fingers crossed our next chapter will be!

* * *

Updated 20150811:: Holy Crap this chapter was bad, I apologize for that tenfold.

* * *

Emi: This is the name given to Melody by the Hokage to be used when Melody takes mission directly from him, he was told that Melody was just one of Kushina's clones. Melody practically adopted this name and uses it while running around in a clone; therefore most people know her as Emi. She is known to be Sakumo's friend and a friend of Obito Uchiha's gran. It is not uncommon to see Sakumo with Kakashi and Emi with Obito around the village. Anyone who knows/works with "Emi" only knows she was transferred into Konoha as a teen and was individually trained.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: He has the same appearance as canon, Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sensei of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. He is known for his smarts and is well aware that there is more to this Kushina/Emi situation than meets the eye.

Jiraiya: Looks like he does in canon. Has only been mentioned thus far also kept to canon thus far.

Kakashi: His appearance is also to canon. It has been hinted and blatantly stated by Emi that she has been around him for years, because of this some things have developed differently with Kakashi. He is still the prodigy though and has noted how close Emi and Sakumo are on his own. Exactly how he interprets his relationship with the woman will continue to develop and evolve.

Kurama: Our fox looks as amazing as he does in canon. There have already been a lot of changes with our lovable nine tailed fox. His relationship with the intruding Melody has already been mentioned but shall be further explained along with his opinions about all of this. Out of everyone thus far he has changed the most, how exactly hasn't been completely disclosed but has been hinted at. Currently Kushina has mentioned that he has been quieter as of late and Melody has admitted to having something to do with that.


	15. Chapter 14

"I have somewhere to be. Is there anything else you need from us sensei?" Kakashi looked over to his mentor turned sensei. Minato seemed caught off-guard by his sudden comment, but Kakashi hadn't the time to toy with them. He had matters he had to get to before they found him and he was in no way wanting to be on the prey side of that equation.

"I will need your mission report tomorrow morning." Kakashi nodded and started walking off before his sensei could ask the question that Kakashi could see waiting to be asked. He didn't have time for this, frankly thanks to Obito's little detour he was already late and knew that if he was not where he was supposed to be, what could end as a pleasant evening could turn sour… and dangerous.

Really dangerous.

He made his way through the streets ignoring the two curious parties tailing him and his sensei who was a bit further back but not completely out of his range. Why they were so interested in what he had planned was beyond him and while he knew that not saying anything would have drawn the least amount of attention it would also have taken the longest amount of time and that was not an option. He had almost made it to the meeting location when suddenly the streets became more populated and he was pulled into an alley.

All it took was a quick intake of breath for him to know who it was. "Quick disappear."

He was trying to avoid this but with a sigh the six-year-old hid his chakra. He stood there and almost smirked when he felt his followers chakra flare slightly, likely out of shock, before they took off in their own directions. She held him in place for a moment longer her sensing abilities, he had learned, were much more trained than what she lead on. The fact that she had her own reserves dampened as well told him that she had apparently been waiting long enough for her to formulate this pseudo-kidnapping. After another minute or two she released her grasp on him and he stepped forward before turning to look at her. "They won't give up until they find me." He grumbled voicing the both of their thoughts.

She nodded, "Especially Minato I am sure." He gave her a pointed look, but she merely frowned and ruffled the back of her hair before digging into her pocket and handing him a scroll. "Henge into something different. I have a spare set of clothes in that one." With that, she turned around and he followed suit. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt as if he was on the run from the law or something, but he ignored that feeling and transformed. Kakashi was slipping his shirt on when she spoke up again, "Ya done yet?"

He replied by throwing the scroll at her back, she rolled her eyes and picked it up. "You're going through an awful lot of trouble. What exactly are we going to be doing?" He asked, she didn't bother answering and simply grabbed his hand. They exited the alley into the crowd and he allowed her to drag him to wherever the hell it was she wanted to take him.

He had learned a couple of things since he first started meeting with Kushina.

First and foremost: He should have **never** taken her up on her offer. He had somewhat known of her via Minato before the funeral, but he hadn't thought that he wouldn't have been able to shake the kunoichi after that one encounter.

Secondly: He learned quickly that once you were under Kushina's wing, there was **no** breaking free. Her company was annoying at first, but it became tolerable. Much to his surprise she was extremely close with Emi and would openly share things about her when asked.

Third: **Never** ask to train with Kushina and then go easy on her. She was a frightening foe and apparently Minato-sensei had **not** been joking about her questionable battle tactics. It wasn't that she didn't have any, actually she was exceptionally skilled in what she did...but the moment she found herself outside of her comfort zone watch out, because Kakashi wasn't completely sure if she _wouldn't_ chew off a limb if necessary.

Finally: Apparently Kushina was from some Clan that was wiped out. He had learned during one of their missions where she was put on the team 'just in case' that Kushina could take a hell of a beating and healed _inhumanly_ fast. She also had these chains she was able to create out of pure chakra...that had been exceptionally useful and unexpected by not only his team (aside of Minato) but also the enemy. She was **scary** proficient with those.

"Here we are!" He locked eyes with the now green-eyed blond and arched a brow. He wasn't a hundred percent sure, but Kakashi was willing to bet that he _had_ discussed his dislike for sweets to her in the past. Sometimes he wondered if some things really went in one ear and out the others like she joked. "This was Em's favorite place to eat." He bit the inside of his lip and looked at the Dango Shop. "It was almost gross watching her eat fifty-plus sticks in one sitting."

"Sounds like watching a certain someone eat ten bowls of Ramen." Kakashi quipped back glancing from the shop and back at Kushina. He had just decided that he didn't like the look she was giving him when a smile slid onto her features and she took him by the arm then proceeded to drag him into the shop.

It was a simple enough shop and they seated themselves. Kushina was still looking at him weird and the recently promoted Chunnin couldn't help but wonder what exactly he had done to earn _that_ look. Seriously he could practically feel her happiness rolling off of her in waves and before he had the chance to question her mental stability a waitress had arrived at their table. "W-what ca-can I g-get youtodrink?" First she had barely managed to produce single-syllable words individually then she was mashing them all together.

Kakashi suppressed a grunt.

"I'll have a water."

"I will as well." He added before dismissing the waitress and looked back at Kushina who was now frowning at him. "What?"

"You're such a sourpuss is all," She replied blandly as she leaned into the table. "I mean you're _my_ sourpuss, **but** a sourpuss nevertheless." Kakashi frowned, "That and it is so weird." He arched a brow, "I know you are henged and all but," she pointed at his mouth and circled it. "It still seems wrong."

"You didn't want them to recognize us, right?" She nodded, "They'd _expect_ me to wear a mask. Period."

"But that is not your face." It wasn't a question but more of a statement. A statement, not a question. His eyes narrowed a bit before she spoke up. "I can just tell, don't get me wrong you are adorable, but it just doesn't scream Kakashi."

"Wasn't that the point?" He was not amused by the subject she chose or the early dismissal of it. He saw the waitress making her way back with their drinks and having no idea what to order he decided to ask Kushina. "Which was her favorite?" Kushina was unable to answer before the teen returned and began rummaging around for her pen and paper.

"A-are you r-ready to order?"

"We'll have one plate of Bocchan dango and two of Hanami."

"I-I'm sorry i-it's not in season fo-" Kushina raised her hand to halt the waitress.

"Tell boss-man that I have already bought my rice and I have come to buy my lily." Kakashi watched as the girl while confused nodded and headed off back to the kitchen. Kushina leaned into the table and allowed her chin to rest on the palm of her hand as she looked out at the streets. He brought the cup to his mouth and took a drink watching her intently _knowing_ that she damn well knew that he was waiting for her to explain what that was about. He was on the verge of breaking the silence when she shot up and grinned at him. "I was waiting for three hours, ya know." Kakashi mentally cringed, he was hoping that she was passed that state already. _Apparently not._

"Our mission took a bit longer than anticipated."

"I'll let it slide this time Kakashi-kun." She paused. "This time only because we are out for **your** promotion to Chunnin." He rolled his eyes at her. He had an inkling as to why they were out and low-and-behold he was correct. They _had_ gone out for Ramen right before this last mission, but it was rushed. Kushina could down a couple bowls of Ramen in a short amount of time, but she enjoyed tasting her food when given the opportunity.

"Were you not just promoted to Jōnin as well?" He had asked just as their food arrived, the difference was exceptionally subtle between the vests but he had spotted it and if the beaming redhead was any indication he had inferred correctly. "Congratulations, Uzumaki-san." She scrunched her nose up at the comment and kicked him under the table, "Gomen. Gomen. Kushina-senpai." He smirked as the dug into their food ignoring his throbbing shin.

* * *

"So you haven't noticed?" Shikaku thought aloud as he watched Minato pick up a piece and pause. Vibrant blue eyes glanced at him before looking down at the board, if he cared enough Shikaku would have rolled his eyes. He was not talking about the game. Minato would have been playing worse had he been thinking about what Shikaku had believed he was... though he wasn't playing much better at the moment.

Shikaku had known Minato for the better part of most their childhood, he didn't bother with the Namikaze in the Academy and he had refused to fight him in their first Chunnin Exams together. Shikaku Nara saw potential in Minato, but he was not Inoichi and, therefore, waited for the blond to come to him. As he had predicted he did. Now it had become a sort of ritual, Minato would show up once or twice a week -when he could of course- for a game of Shogi or Go. They would discuss anything intellectual - Minato had managed to pleasantly surprise Shikaku with the conversations they had on occasion- and would enjoy the others company.

The day Shikaku had thought of Minato as more than a comrade or acquaintance was a slight shock to him.

He hadn't expected anyone other than Inoichi or Chōza to end up in that category.

After a moment of thought, Minato placed his piece and with that Shikaku leaned back and looked at the blond. It didn't take but a moment for Minato to realize his mistake and casually rub the back of his head with a grin, "Well looks like I lost that one." There were only three different scenarios that could happen and in all of them Minato lost. The Nara let out a sigh and waited for Minato to speak...when he chose instead to reset the board Shikaku spoke up.

"How is he doing?" They were long since the pleasantries part.

"It's getting worse," Minato admitted pausing with what he was doing, "I am not sure if placing him on a team was the best move." The board was set, but it had long since been forgotten. Hatake, Kakashi had been a matter of discussion since his father had taken his own life. Both Minato and Shikaku didn't fool themselves into thinking that they didn't see the signs. Anyone who did was either blind or a liar. Typically or rather, historically shinobi taking their own life was not unheard of. Noted it was considered old-fashioned even if the practices were no more than maybe a century dead. Since the beginning of the Second Shinobi War honorable suicides had been on a rapid decline almost completely disappearing by the end of it. If there were anyone today who would perform such practices it would likely be those who lived and even fought during that period.

Sakumo was among the listed.

Shikaku found himself optimistically agreeing with Minato on the subject when they had brought up their concerns for the White Fang's well-being months ago. _Surely_ Sakumo wouldn't leave his only child an orphan. Not with the threats that loomed on the horizon.

He proved them wrong.

The Third Hokage's idea of putting the young Hatake on a team had been toyed with during his apprenticeship under Minato. Shikaku completely agreed that Kakashi would greatly benefit from teamwork. Had Shikaku not seen Kakashi with his father on the rare occasions at the park even he would have believed that the kid was well past his childhood years. There was a nagging feeling in the back of Shikaku's mind that perhaps they too -the village- would let Kakashi down much like they had his father.

But that was a discussions for another time.

"It will be good for him." Shikaku didn't give Minato enough time to speak, "He **needs** to be around kids his age. One of the two only people he has ever looked up to killed himself after failing a mission. In response to that he did the only logical thing to him and has taken these shinobi rules to heart." He leaned back, "The only other person he looks up to has no idea what to do with a grieving genius." Minato glared and Shikaku could only smirk.

"It's not like this comes in a handbook." Minato sighed defending himself and brought his hands up to his face, "This isn't exactly something they teach you at the academy either."

"That would make it too easy."

"Not helping."

"Never said I was going to." Shikaku chuckled as Minato slouched further. "This will be good for him." He offered.

* * *

"Is there something troubling you?" Fugaku was a lot of things, but stupid he was not. He was the heir of the Uchiha Clan and, therefore, had been raised to notice things that your typical person or shinobi would miss. He was raised to take his father's seat and play politics in the village's best interest followed by the Clan's. He took pride in his observation skills.

Mikoto had caught his attention the moment she became friends with that volatile Uzumaki friend of hers.

She was different, she was beautiful, she was independent, caring, strong, inquisitive, sagacious.

No one was deserving of her.

Not even him.

Her velvety black eyes locked onto him and for a moment he lost himself in her soft gaze. "I do not wish to trouble you with my concerns." If he were anyone else he would have knit his brows together, bit his lip, frowned, but he was raised to be the poster child of the next Uchiha Clan Head and, therefore, he kept his expression stoic. Instead to show interest he kept his gaze on her, he wanted nothing more than to tell her that her concerns were now his and he wanted _wanted_ to ease her troubled mind. "It's Kushina." Mikoto finally replied as she set down her chopsticks.

He nodded and took a bite of his own meal, his mind mulling over what little information she had been willing to share with him about the Uzumaki. Frankly, Fugaku was surprised that Mikoto didn't worry more about her friend. In the few situations he had found himself around the Uzumaki, before Mikoto informed her of their arrangement, she was...trying, quick to anger, loud, persistent, bullheaded, rude, uncouth amongst other things. How or why Mikoto had taken a liking to the redhead was beyond Fugaku's understanding. Even still in a sense, Fugaku felt like he owed the Uzumaki. If she hadn't been who she was then, perhaps, he would have never noticed the woman sitting across the table from him.

Not that he would ever admit that.

No, Fugaku would continue with his seemingly blatant disregard for the Uzumaki. He didn't like the way his father's gaze seemingly followed the Uzumaki when they were out in public. He didn't understand why there was such an interest in the teen, but he knew better than to ask. As heir he knew it was only a matter of time before he was informed of Uzumaki Kushina's importance to the Uchiha. There was no other way around it, his father _didn't_ search anyone else out. Fugaku had even noticed a couple of the other Clan Head's interest in the Uzumaki as well. What it was about the sole-surviving Uzumaki that intrigued the Clan Heads was above him, but he would rather sell his soul to the Shinigami before dying without finding out what the interest in her was. "Has she done something to trouble you?" She was rather known for her pranks, believe it or not. While everyone else was still on the lookout for the serial-prankster Fugaku had caught her in the act once. She was about to make her escape when she happened to run into him, she began to offer an apology before realizing just _who_ she ran into.

She then proceeded to insult him.

Apparently she didn't care for Mikoto and his engagement.

The next thing he knew the kunoichi was in the form of a young Uchiha standing at his side and three Chunnin ran up asking if he saw anyone suspicious in the area. Fugaku and the child-Kushina pointed in two different directions. He proceeded to 'bop' her upside the head and reprimand her on giving false information to the authorities. Fugaku wasn't sure if it was part of the act - or he had hit her hard enough to cause the tears to begin to form her eyes, but it made the scene seem more genuine. He then proceeded to point the Chunnin in the direction opposite from where he was coming from and Kushina had originally been heading.

She was gone without so much as a thanks.

"It's nothing, really." _Sometimes she can be so..._ He placed a hand over hers as she went to reach for her chopsticks. They shared a glance and she frowned, "I am sure it is nothing, but she has been pulling away from everyone lately." She made no attempt to remove her hands from his grasp and instead did that thing she had picked up from the Uzumaki who had picked it up from the Namikaze and bit her lower lip. "Outside of the time Minato spends with her when she teaches him Fūinjutsu if you can even call it that anymore, she doesn't talk to anyone other than Teuchi."

"What has he to say on the matter?"

"He has been annoying quiet about the whole ordeal." Mikoto quickly answered breaking her loosely held stoic mask and revealing the woman he had come to care deeply for and possibly love. The two of them shared a smile and went back to their breakfast, his mind was processing the information that he had just obtained from his betrothed. It would seem that things were brewing both inside and outside of the village. Fugaku couldn't help but wonder what this would mean for their generation and those that were younger than even him. He couldn't help but wonder how other villages viewed Konoha's recent loss, yes they still had the three Sannin but -and this was him purely speculating as if he were an enemy of Konoha- he wondered if - _IF_ \- perhaps _this_ was Konoha's weakness.

Self-mutilation that is.

Would the village turn their backs to every shinobi who was forced between morals and rules?

Could enemies of the village possibly profit off it?

Were they really their own worst enemy?

* * *

Obito liked to think that he had known Kakashi well enough and was even deemed a friend of the young Hatake. He was willing to get into fights with others about that very topic, but all of that stopped after Kakashi's sudden change in personality. Obito couldn't remember White Fangs Funeral, but he knew that he had been there. Both he and Rin had been standing near Kakashi during it. Rin had mentioned it to him a number of times by now. What he couldn't understand was **why** exactly Kakashi had such a dramatic change. Onyx eyes narrowed as both he and Rin followed their third teammate down the streets of Konoha. Minato-sensei had informed them that they were to conduct team training with Kushina-senpai while he was out on a mission.

Neither Kushina nor Kakashi made it to practice.

Therefore, Rin and he had agreed to go searching for them.

Kakashi was deemed the easier of the two to track down. While they had worked with Kushina-senpai a couple of times in the past they knew next near to nothing concrete about her. In fact, when Rin mentioned that she believed that their sensei was courting the fiery hell-spawn Obito had just about died...of laughing that was. Then after Rin had glared at him he actually stopped and thought about it. Now he had convinced himself that there was no way in the name of the Hokage that they were **not** _not_ together.

But back to their search of their missing disgruntled teammate. It was only after they found the vandalized Hatake Clan Home did they realize just how little they knew about Kakashi. Obito didn't want to even toy with the idea of Kakashi still living in that home, so he convinced himself that the reason the house was empty was because their teammate no longer lived there. They backtracked back toward the training ground, wondering if perhaps they had just missed him on the way or that he and Kushina had shown up in their absence.

No one was there.

They remained at that training ground and only when they could hear the Academy Bell ringing for lunch did they move from their positions. "Do you think that maybe something came up?" He looked over to their medic and frowned. _I_ _f something were to have come up **someone** would have told us. _ He thought as his frown deepened. _It wasn't as if I could say_ that, _though, no. That was not something Obito would have said, not to the love of his life._

"Did sensei mention anything about Kakashi-baka having a mission?" Rin seemed to stop and think about his question for a minute before shaking her head.

"Maybe he just needs some more time to himself." Rin offered though she seemed to be trying to convince herself as well.

"I wish Obasan were here. She would surely train us!" He offered boisterously after a moment he deflated, "But who knows how long her mission is going to take." He fell onto the ground and crossed his arms and legs, "Even Hokage-sama didn't know. AAARRGGGGHHH THIS ISN"T FAIR!"

"Yelling isn't going to solve anything Obito-kun." Rin offered with a smile, "Would you like to spar? I know I am not as strong or quick as Kakashi, but there is no point in wasting a perfectly good day, right?" He smiled and brought himself back up to his feet, _a spar with Rin could be just what the doctor ordered. Pun intended._ It wasn't like they knew where Kushina-senpai lived and frankly she scared the kunai off of him. That woman was **terrifying** when it came to training and he would swear that she enjoyed _torturing_ them when given the opportunity. But never in front of Minato, nooo. She was far too busy arguing or teasing him to train them.

"That sounds amazing Rin!" He slammed his fist down over his chest twice, "Don't think I am going to go easy on you, though." _Because frankly, you are the catalyst._

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Hey guys, I have no excuse for this horribly late update. I will tell you that things haven't been going well and I've been pushing forward as best I could.

I can also say that I am not going to allow the stupidness to affect you guys!

I cannot promise one a week posts until everything clears up but I will try my darnest to not leave you in the dark for a month with only a title update and a few bonus (but not edited...yet) chapters!

Hope you enjoy!

"If you have only two pennies left in the world, with the first penny, you should buy rice to feed your family. With the second penny, say the wise Japanese, you should buy a lily. The Japanese understand the importance of dreaming... " Is a Japanese proverb. In the story Melody/Emi came here often and Hanami is her favorite, being a constant local who bought in bulk (if one wishes to call it that) she became friends with the shop owner and they came to the agreement that so long as he (the owner) had the material and she gave a reference to the quote then she or her friends would be served Hanami whenever.


	16. Chapter 15

"Kushina?" Kushina looked up from her scrolls and into a familiar pool of blue eyes. "Are you okay?" His hand rested on her shoulder and she let out a long sigh before pinching the bridge of her nose. She absolutely adored Minato there weren't too many things about him that she honestly disliked, but **this** was definitely one of them.

"How is that technique of yours coming along." She deflected shrugging his hand off her shoulder as she picked up the few kunai she was forced to use during this last encounter. "Did you find the right balance of ink to keep the seal from smudging or wearing?" She was just about ready to severely maim someone if they kept on this path.

"No, not this time." Kushina snarled as she froze in place a quick glance down told her everything she needed to know. She could feel the hairs on her arms raise on end and the beast inside of her bellowing out in anger as she was turned to face the two chūnin. "You have everyone walking on eggshells." Her ears twitched at the familiar phrase and stored it to process later. "It's been a year and a half since you started acting up." Familiar dark gray eyes bore into her. "Time to talk."

"People change, it's part of life."

"Why the sudden interest in my student?" Minato asked with a glare. She was too caught off-guard at him glaring at her for her to process whether it was because he was seriously upset at her for taking a liking to the Hatake. "That's when everything changed drastically." Sue her, sometimes she forgot that her blond haired baka for a love-interest was **actually** a genius. In her defense he had been a complete mess the last couple months of their training together.

"Every second we waste here more Iwa-nin are flanking our fellow shinobi left and right." She spat, _anger was good. Anger is easy._ "We are getting _massacred_ and you want to stop and talk about why I have a new friend?!" She saw the both of them wince as she allowed more of her intent run loose. "If you don't let me go right now Nara, I will ensure that you are overloaded with so much chakra you are left in a bloody stupor!" She watched as the two of them looked at one another with grim expressions and not a moment later she was able to move of her own free will. "We've got to regroup with Hideo's group."

 _ **If he pulls something like that again I will attack.**_

 _Have you been able to find them yet?_

 _ **You will be the first to know. My other half is still hidden from me.**_

 _For you to send a whole half._

 _ **I showed you everything I know, kit. There was no way around it.**_

 _Still why didn't she just come back when she had the chance?_

 ** _Vixen doesn't do anything without reason._**

 _And **that** has always been what bothers me most._

She had been completely terrified of the demon she was housing for the longest of times. Aside of them sharing the same space in their mind and Melody talking to or about him on a couple of occasions Kushina hadn't given him the time of day. Six months after her disappearance though it had been those seldom times that she _had_ seen Melody talk to the Fox that gave her the courage to do so herself. She hadn't quite figured out what kind of screwed up relationship the three of them had with one another and frankly she was desperate at the time.

It had taken some time but eventually Kurama informed her of a number of things. First he had access for one reason or another, he still hadn't told her how or why, to Melody's active memories. Second that access was lost a couple of days after she left for her mission. And finally the last time he had seen Melody, or Vixen as he had dubbed her, she had come up to him and asked for help. It was at this time, particularly for the chance to walk free -even partially- that he surrendered half of his reserves. The following day he, much to his surprise and utter annoyance, he was cut off from that half and Melody completely.

To say he was furious was putting it lightly.

"Hideo!" It was a bloodbath, Kushina, Minato and Shikaku landed next to the leader of the outpost. Shikaku then checked for a pulse as she stood and looked at the battleground, "It was a massacre." She growled as she felt her blood begin to boil, _again I am too late._

"He's been dead a while," Shikaku replied as he walked up to join the two of them. Kushina could **not** understand how they could be losing as many shinobi as they were and the village **_still_ ** be considered to be at a time of peace. She had brought it up to Minato and Shikaku while they were out eating Barbeque, Shikaku had attempted to explain it but the only thing she gained out of all of it was that the Hokage was trying his hardest to keep the village out of another war. Shikaku had also explained that war was technically a good thing for the village, you could easily profit off of it... _so long as you were alright with Shinobi dropping left and right._

It made more sense, the amount of missions that they were picking up. She was happy to get a _single_ day off between missions and it was like every time she was in his office for a mission the amount of work on his desk tripled. It also put her mind at ease, in a twisted sort of way, with their borders being as chaotic as it was Kushina was _sure_ that perhaps Melody was somewhere out there just lost in the chaos and every time she left the village walls there was a chance that she could stumble across the brunette or her captures.

"We need to keep moving, this doesn't stop the mission ya know." Without another word, the three of them took to the trees and headed toward their next outpost.

* * *

"That wasn't even a challenge." Osamu looked over to their comrade and smiled as she threw her hood up and retreated to her area of the camp. Ever since she had joined their ranks years ago their missions had run much smoother than planned. He didn't know where the Tsuchikage had found her and he had to admit when their Council had pulled him aside and ordered him to perform _that_ technique on the pathetic excuse for a person curled up on the floor, he thought they had finally lost their minds to age.

 _That's why they were on the Council and I am just a shinobi._

There were rumors surrounding the kunoichi. Some claimed she came from some long-forgotten clan. Others said that she was the sole survivor of Satoshi's Squad that had been destroyed by the Leaf Kage's students. He had heard once that she was captured by another unnamed shinobi and brought to the village as a gift. It seemed that with every passing day the rumors around her arrival grew even more mysterious and the stories the shinobi shared about her prowess grew, he wouldn't be surprised if that by the end of the war she were to become some legend. If the Bingo Books they had picked up off of the corpses of their enemies held any truth her page was growing with each passing day.

He looked over to the hooded female with a frown, now with everything stacking up they may never know where it was she came from. Both the Tsuchikage and Council had warned that if the technique were to fail she was to be killed on the spot and it didn't take long for her to show him why they would issue such an order for her. _Whoever she is, she is a danger to everyone around her._ He didn't know if that was completely true, but he was positive that all of _them_ would be dead.

"Is it holding up?" A hand fell on his left shoulder and he couldn't help but smile as Nao sat next to him. "You seem troubled, so I just assumed." He brought his hand up and tapped hers trying to calm his pounding heart.

"It's holding up fine, she doesn't suspect a thing."

"I don't believe she cares enough to." Nao frowned, "Was she like this before?" He couldn't help himself, he laughed.

"No, she went down kicking and screaming... mentally. She had her chakra completely suppressed and lived, although I don't know for how much longer she would have lasted. She snarled as I neared her." Her brushed her hair behind her ear and they shared a smile before she shied away.

"If it were to break?"

"I don't see how it would. No one has ever reacted how she has to the technique." His teal eyes glanced over from Nao and her beautiful blue eyes to the woman in question. "Our orders still stand. She dies."

"But how many of us will she take out first?" It was because of that very risk why he didn't want Nao anywhere near this woman. They had just married and his urge to protect her was stronger now than it had ever been...but she was a kunoichi and if they were going to win this apparent one-sided war with Konohagakure, then they were going to need every shinobi and kunoichi out fighting.

With the sun long since set and the fires blazing Osamu let out a sigh as he stood up and walked over to the hooded woman in question. Her back was to him but even still he didn't fool himself into believing that she didn't know exactly where he was in relation to her. Only when he was fifteen or so paces from her did he stop and speak. "We attack before dawn with the rising sun to our backs."

"A smart move, they will be blinded and we shall have not only the element of surprise but the advantage of sight." She interrupted prodding at her flame with a stick lazily.

"You will be leading the charge," She knocked over a larger piece of wood, "The men seem to have taken quite the liking to you. Running into battle with you leading them will motivate them into fighting their damnest." Lazily the piece she held in her hand was thrown into the flame. "You are to take out as many as possible."

"I am to lead from the front?"

"Hai." He stood in silence watching her back as she stared into the flames. He stood there for a couple of moments wondering just what exactly she was thinking about. Where was she from? If she had someone waiting for her back home? Surely she didn't just come from thin air... The fact that there was seemingly no word of another village panicking about someone like her missing bothered him. _Was this all some intricate trap? Were they the ones being fooled?_

"Understood."

* * *

"They've already taken out the two nearest outposts." Shikaku explained as they sat around the fire a cool breeze brought the hair on his skin up on end. Kushina had retreated to a nearby tree to continue studying another seal after chucking a scroll at him, of course. He had toyed with the idea of joining her and working on his current predicament, but one glance from Shikaku told him that the Nara would likely pass out if left on his own. And so here he was gathered around a fire with Shikaku and Tatsuo, the leader of this batch of shinobi. "They are obviously going to strike here next and leave our whole left flank undefended," Shikaku explained before turning his attention from Tatsuo and over to him.

"They have likely picked up their fallen, with the intention of keeping their losses hidden from us." He added, "It's not unheard of. Even still, a lot of the shinobi looked like they were caught off guard. Sand was evident at both sites," He paused to let that piece of information sink in.

"So Suna is against us." Tatsuo frowned, "We are completely unprepared for an attack from them as well."

"Just because there was sand at the sites does not mean that Suna is involved." Shikaku quickly interrupted, "There are still many displaced shinobi from the previous war... whose to say that this is the case." Shikaku paused. "That's not the point." The Nara sat up from his slouched position and gave Tatsuo what Kushina dubbed 'his serious face' before continuing. "You are surrounded, they obviously know where you are located and possibly believe this outpost holds some kind of importance."

"We have received word to defend this post at all costs." Minato couldn't help but frown, that was most definitely not the kind of response he was hoping to hear.

"At all costs?" Tatsuo nodded. Shikaku shared a look with him before he spoke once more leaning toward Tatsuo. "Is this area of any strategic importance for the village?" Tatsuo frowned and his lack of response was all Minato needed to know that he knew he was walking these shinobi to their deaths. "I see." Shikaku frowned himself and the three of them retreated to their own thoughts while looking into the burning flames.

"Oi!" The three of them looked up to their third teammate. "Shikaku I am going to need your help." She then brought up and showed them a couple of her scrolls, "It's the middle of the night. No offense Minato but Shadow Boy here is the best shot at a defense I got and with your speed you would do the most damage here with Tatsuo." He frowned not disagreeing with her logic but not liking how natural and fluid the words flew off of her lips. _There is something bothering her._ Shikaku stood up and popped his back at the same time there was a 'pop' and there was a second Kushina standing with a wave. "I'll leave back a clone on the off chance something happens before I get back."

"Well, are we going to sit here and keep flapping our jaws or are we going to get these seals planted." Kushina rolled her eyes at the Nara's comment and with that Minato watched as they disappeared into the forest.

"Does she know what she is doing? I hadn't heard about another Fūinjutsu specialist or apprentice in Konoha." Minato frowned at the accusing glance Tatsuo was sending his way.

"Her Clan specialized in Fūinjutsu ." He admitted with a frown returning his glance back to the dancing flames, "If there is anyone outside of Sensei who knows how to work with Sealings it's Kushina." The green eyed shinobi nodded in response and too looked into the flames as if searching for the answer to what was troubling him. Minato tried to ignore the slight glare her clone was giving the both of them knowing that if it were anything like its origin she wasn't enjoying being spoken about as if she weren't there - only remaining silent because technically she wasn't.

"So you are all Chunnin?" Minato nodded, "What were your parameters?"

"We were originally tasked to check the bordering towns and villages."

"The nearest town is hundreds of kilometers away."

"Black smoke caught out attention, it wasn't anywhere near a town, but we knew there were shinobi out there..." Minato paused, "That's where we found the first outpost." He brought his knees closer to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. "There was nothing we could do, they had been dead for hours possible days." The scene was brutal and he didn't want to remember the smell. "We spotted the next batch of smoke shortly after that-"

"I understand." Tatsuo interrupted, "You really need to return to the village and inform the Hokage about all of this." Minato laughed, whole-heartedly laughed.

"Try telling that to her." Her motion toward the clone. "If she can help there is no changing her mind." The clone stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms. "Once she has made up her mind there is practically nothing anyone can do to change it." This time the two of them shared a laugh.

* * *

 _"How many times do I have to tell them that throwing me at point is just about as efficient as giving Baker the Bravo. It just doesn't work out!"_

 _"It doesn't work out because you don't allow it to." There was a groan of annoyance in response followed by a chuckle from the second voice. "I am being serious here!"_

 _"Look at it as a way to better yourself. You know and they know what your weakness is."_

 _"This isn't training bro, there are no respawns if I fuck this up. Damn it Jim. I'm a mechanic, not a point man." The second voice laughed in response._

 _"You and your quotes... But technically you are a soldier first."_

 _"Don't throw that shit on me."_

It seemed so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. "If you have any questions bring them up with me." With that she listened as he walked away from the little patch of ground that she had called her home for these last couple weeks. Only when he was out of earshot did she let out a sigh and throw more twigs onto her flame. She shut her eyes and welcomed the familiar nostalgic feeling of the flames heating her skin as she pushed down the emptiness that threatened to overcome her.

There was nothing familiar about the people around her. Every day it felt as if she were walking in a dream and she allowed herself to do the only thing she seemingly knew how to do best. Work and in this case kill. She didn't allow herself to look into her enemies eyes as they bled to death, she didn't allow herself to grow attached to the people she watched weeks leading up to the attack. There was something keeping her from doing so, they were just a blur of gray as she danced with death on the fields. Their screams and cries never reached her ears and she was greeted only with the growing stench of death as their dance progressed.

It was a familiar dance, something she could do in her sleep.

And while she knew nothing about herself she knew many things about how to end one's life and how to maintain her own. She recognized that this _should_ have been frightening - it would have been for any other person who happened to have woken up in her shoes. But once the orders were given it was like there was a switch, she was able to simply do what she was told and if that meant mowing down scores of people - so be it. She _knew_ how to follow orders, that too came second nature to her. _Purpose, Direction and what was that other thing?_ She thought as she pulled her lips back into a snarl, _The accomplishment of my mission and what was that other thing?!_ _I know it's important! I can **feel** it._

Anything that she could remember came back in a giant mess of riddles and rhymes. Phrases that didn't quite make sense and feelings that she could not place. She _knew_ that these things were important to her in another life, she would hear something and colors would flash behind her eyes or she would find herself feeling the most confusing of emotions. A good example of this was when she first retreated into her mind, she must have been dreaming. Looking up into the sky her heart _clenched._ Another time she was dancing in an annoyingly familiar room, she couldn't make out anything about her partner but their greenish-brown eyes. Then there were times like just moments before, fragments of conversations would play in her mind. She could remember having them, but couldn't for the life of her remember with who, where or why.

It **infuriated** her!

With a growl, she fell onto her side and allowed herself to fall into a light sleep.

* * *

The sounds of explosions were definitely not how he was hoping to start his day. _So they aren't incompetent._ Sure, Kushina and he had placed the traps out the night before, but he was sincerely hoping that perhaps the enemy force were unaware of this forward camp. Before he had time to do much else Shikaku found himself on the ground to avoid the barrage of weapons thrown in his direction. To his left Minato was holding off a couple of shinobi on his own, his speed being a deciding factor in the battle. To his right there was Tatsuo along with a couple of his men and Shikaku was back on his feet with Kushina at his back. "The majority of them were taken out before going off," She growled out as she was forced into his back by the force of the shinobi coming at her.

"They've got quite the eye." He replied pushing against her to give her some more momentum for the deflect. With a groan, the Nara couldn't help but give the enemies tactician some credit before knocking a kunai off its path last moment. "They're also attacking with their backs to the sun. These aren't novices..." Another kunai was barely caught and not a second later Kushina blocked one attacking from their flank. "Or at least their leaders are not." She gave a grunt of confirmation. "How many is a majority."

"Too many to be a coincidence." Kushina replied from his back as Minato joined in.

"Checking for traps is custom."

"These seals had **my** chakra _interlaced_ in them. I _should_ have been _immediately_ aware of **any** tampering." She growled, "While I am not the best at what I do- Minato!" The blond was gone from their defensive position and a quick glance found him defending a downed Tatsuo. "Damn it, this is pointless. I wonder if this is what _he_ found himself in." Shikaku was positive that he wasn't supposed to hear that, but he had and decided to file that into something to analyze later as he pulled his hands into his signature hand sign. Seconds later every single shinobi in front of him found themselves frozen in place. Kushina was gone from his back and the sound of metal slamming against one another rang in his ears.

Minato was taking out the shinobi under his hold when Shikaku's hair stood on end. He barely had enough time to realize the blur of brown heading his way and hadn't the time to do anything about it. Luckily instead of being greeted by his throat being slit or a kunai being jammed into his body Shikaku's ears rang and was blinded by a river of red. "I don't think so you prick." Kushina had come to his defense and his demise was thwarted.

Minato had just finished off the enemies under his hold and was at his side when Kushina was thrown over their heads. Shikaku's eyes narrowed, this shinobi was nothing like the rest of the force they had come in with _. If they had come in with them_. Both the hood and the cloak concealed anything that would give any usual shinobi an idea as to who they were.

Shikaku was no usual shinobi.

First: This shinobi was a female. And there was something uncannily familiar about her.  
Second: She hesitated in attacking him long enough for Kushina to deflect. If she wanted him to be dead- he would have.  
Third: She was shocked. The fact that she was standing there seemingly looking at them from in front of Tatsuo was proof of that.

For all of a second it seemed as if time around them slowed, then without so much as a hint she and Tatsuo were battling it out. It took a moment but eventually he was able to somewhat keep track of them. "Can any of you follow this?" Minato who was used to traveling at speeds quicker than most shinobi and Kushina the Kyuubi's jinchūriki were the only two people with whom he would have asked such a question of.

"Ish," Kushina grumbled.

"Easily."

"Show off." Kushina muttered to Minato. The two were moving too fast for him to keep track of what exactly was happening, but like everyone else Shikaku watched in horror as Tatsuo the Jonin Commander of the defending force was pinned down. Just as they appeared on the ground Kushina was running forward and Tatsuo was choking on his own blood as it pulsed off of his neck. Minato was quick to follow Kushina and he hadn't even realized that he had sent out Shadows to stop the two. _He's dead,_ he thought to himself. _There is **no** use allowing them to throw their lives away for a dead man._

Much to everyone's surprise the woman perched on Tatsuo dropped her kunai and he watched as her body tensed. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly caused this woman to freeze. But finally after what seemed like minutes that were truly only seconds Tatsuo's shaking hand came up and with one fluid motion, likely with the last of his strength the hood was pulled down.

Kushina's gasp and sudden tenseness under his control was all he needed for the pieces to finally fall into place.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Here I thought I was going to be able to get this out before the deadline. . . I didn't so you get an extra chapter in addition to the one for this week! You lucky readers you.

I think once this stress clears up I will have an easier time getting back on schedule but honestly until I get back to my usual schedule when I started this I don't think that is going to happen.

Anyway, 4100 words my friends!

* * *

As has been the pattern here is some more character information.

* * *

Melody: Self-insert from our world. Age on arrival 28. Height/Weight: not mentioned. Ethnicity: Mixed (white and black); Hair: Brunette curly (that originally fell to her mid-back but upon arrival her curls grew to Kushina's hair length); Eyes: Doe-Brown with a predatory like edge to them.

[A story of Melody's life will be uploaded though not regularly under 私は勇敢になります title.]

Melody's Shishou: After the end of the second shinobi war (which Melody was unaware of) a letter was sent to Melody's Shishou straight from the Hokage. Appears that Melody's Shishou/Boss reluctantly took her under her wing.

(More to come later)

Mikoto: Same appearance as canon. Kushina's childhood best friend. Has an arranged marriage to Fugaku. Future mother of Itachi and Sasuke. Is known to hit Kushina upside the head when upset but genuinely cares for the Uzumaki. They are close friends.

Minato: Kept as close to cannon as possible as of yet. Got his interest in Sealing from hanging around (and crushing) on Kushina. He is in the works of what will earn him the name of "Konoha's Yellow Flash." He is a genius but still a teen himself...even if others seem to forget that.


	17. Chapter 16

"Oh for the love of God, Merlin and the Nine! Kurama~" The brunette was balling her knuckles were white holding onto the only thing that was going to keep her alive. "Where are you!" Hot wet tears fell onto her lap as she skimmed through the camera's with haste. Mentally she was keeping track of her wards ever changing locations. "This isn't fucking funny anymore!" She was human she had her fears; in every other Genjutsu -which she was convinced she was stuck in if not those fucking Uchiha eyes- they had pulled upon her more instinctual fears such as drowning and being strangled. "Fuck, fuck, fuck where are you!" Hastily she flicked her two light sources on and then off. "I really hate you!" She cried flipping through the camera's once more. "You're in here s-somewhere you prats." She flicked on the left light.

Cold Dead Eyes greeted her.

She slammed the second button and the door slammed shut, her eyes were back on the monitor. _I swear I am one of the few who were legit terrified of these things due to prior experience before this shit came out._ A hand shakily shot up to open the door when she spotted the rabbit down the hall. "That damn bird is still in the kitchen." The brunette couldn't tell you how long she had been here, the only thing she could tell you was that the moment she woke up she knew **exactly** where she was.

And for the first time in her twisted confusing life she was **_genuinely_ **_terrified_. She would take going back to wars of her first life and even those Kami-awful missions of her second over this. She genuinely believed that this _Nightmare_ was over, that these images and experiences -that she put on herself for her own twisted entertainment- were long behind her and would fade with time.

To put it into perspective _these_ were the first memories she **completely** locked up before sifting through her memories. These were shoved so far into her subconscious that up until recently she was relatively sure _**no one**_ would be able to exploit it. They were under all of the horrors that she had the pleasure of experiencing during her four deployments, the abuse and everything in-between. These were buried **under** _those_ memories, with hopes that if _anything_ were to haunt her from that life it would be the sound of bullets whizzing past her head. The tourniquets she threw onto her fellow brothers and sisters when their entire leg or arm was fifty meters away. Or even perhaps the side of that world that not many were aware of. She would take the monsters that went bump in the night over this fucking video game!

Melody sniffled as she shifted through the cameras.

Originally she had her legs pulled up to her chest when all of this started, she tried to wrap herself into the tightest ball possible as she attempted to convince herself that none of this could possibly be real. Then something felt _wrong_ there weren't many times before her time with Kushina or during that she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. There were maybe four times where she felt like she had gone from being the hunter to the hunted.

Now it was five.

After quickly scanning through the cameras she had the brunette pulled the monitor down and was out of her seat with a wail. She had _known_ exactly what this was. She knew _exactly_ what could happen. What added to the horror was the very fact that she _did_ know what they were capable of... and _not_ knowing when. So when she found herself staring into the lifeless decrepit _form_ staring right back at her... her howl of surprise turned into a grief-stricken wail.

A blink later and it was gone.

Even though that particular ward, as far as she could recall, was of no real threat to her Melody had since then sat in the chair but had her feet firm on the ground and her muscles were ready to jump up and slam the buttons down. It was a miracle that she hadn't managed to get herself killed here and she wasn't willing to chance Kurama healing her. She hadn't heard hide or tail from the Fox since she had woken up in this horror show and while she wanted _nothing_ more than to sit back and figure out just what the hell was going on... her main objective was to get these six fucking hours over with.

Her only non-terrifying companion was the whirling of the fan on the desk in front of her. She gave the object an appreciative glance before going back to her screen and only now noting the time. "How the hell is it only two o'clock." She cried as her eyes flickered over to the battery power. "I am so dead." She cried hysterically. " _Terrified_ **and** Dead."

* * *

There was no other way to describe it other than that she had felt free with the wind blowing through her hair as she sped down the deserted Texan Interstates going well over a hundred miles per hour. Doe-brown eyes glared as she pushed the throttle and gained more speed, _it isn't fast enough_. She thought with a scowl under the helmet, _It will never be fast enough_. Unshed tears still threatened to spill over even after having left hours ago. Things were said that neither of them could take back. _This isn't how I pictured this turning out._

All the while a particular redhead was unsure as to how all of these emotions felt. It had taken some time and a lot of work to convince him to share anything about her with him, but finally the Fox gave and allowed her this. She was expecting something trivial and moot even and yet here she was. Watching and feeling _this._

They were the perfect couple, everyone had said so since they were in school together all those years ago. Kushina felt her heart clench alongside Melody's. Everyone but her best friend who was completely against the whole ordeal. He swore up and down that her sweetheart was nothing but toxic and would eat away at her. _I should have listened._ Kushina frowned at the raw emotion behind the brunette's thoughts. But she simply couldn't take advice from Seb...no, not after the way he had completely turned against her when she was telling him that Allison was no good for him. Kushina felt as if she were drowning in a pool of nothingness, _How could I when he hadn't heeded my warning about that she-devil._ Kushina couldn't help but wonder exactly if this was what true unadulterated loneliness felt like.

It came as a shock to everyone that knew them when Sebastian Baker and Melody Nightingale stopped speaking to one another. They had been inseparable since she had first shown up with their mother in that town, _We were young..._ Melody pushed her Davidson harder, _and we both thought we knew better for ourselves. When in all actuality we knew what was best for one another._ Images of a young hazel eyed boy ran through Kushina and she felt her heart soar...whoever this person was obviously meant the world to Melody. Kushina was surprised about just how passionately her other-half sincerely _cared._ It was _nothing_ like what Melody expressed during their time together and Kushina couldn't help but wonder if this was the moment when Melody locked all of _this_ away.

That was years ago, she had lost contact with Seb after enlisting and dragging her high school sweetheart turned husband with her to her first duty station. _At least yours ended quickly_. She thought with a smile. Kushina more or less was confused about this particular thought wondering just what exactly had ended quickly for this Seb.

To the outside world, they looked like a perfect couple, Jayden and Melody. The both of them were constantly seen with smiles whenever they were out together and were quite the hosts when they held company barbecues. Even those closest to the two believed that all was well - little did everyone know that after they got married when Melody was nineteen and she graduated from AIT things turned dark.

Everyone knew of Melody, she had always been the soldier you went to whenever you had a problem. She got things done and her word meant something to everyone in the Unit. Nobody would have guessed that when she went home it was the equivalent of a battlefront. Her first deployment couldn't come quick enough with it meant that she had at least twelve months away from the hell that she had come to grow used to.

Kushina felt dirty, she felt as if she were prying into something intimate. Perhaps even into the very depths of Melody that were hidden behind the masks and smiles. Not to say that none of them held sincerity. Most of them did, but it almost felt as if Mel's was always holding back. Melody would surely be unhappy about it later, but frankly it had been years since she had last seen or even heard from the brunette. From her Yin, she was **not** going to turn away from this. So Kushina sat back and watched.

It started simple enough, they argued a lot. Eventually, they began raising their voices. There was no physical contact before her first deployment or for a short time after. She turned twenty overseas and grew used to the chaos that was the War on Terror. When she returned home she was much more patient, knowing that this was nothing like how it was over there. Jayden took that to mean that he had become Alpha in the house. The fighting escalated with time and soon enough she turned twenty-one and drinking became her refuge. Melody was constantly spotted at bars until they closed, no one at work knew - she was alway on time for P.T. before dawn the next day with a smile on her face, she got her work done and didn't confide in anyone.

Her second deployment couldn't come quickly enough, the night before she shipped out was when the fists flew. Her uniform hid the bruises well enough and she left him with a few of his own along with a broken nose and black eye. Another nine months passed and she was back stateside Jayden was nowhere to be seen. She returned to find her home dusty and empty.

 _Nothing gold can stay._ She thought ruefully causing Kushina to internally grimace. This was definitely not a side of Mel's she had ever seen, it almost felt like she was being swallowed in the current that were Melody's feelings. She felt betrayed, annoyed, angered, tired, restless, spiteful but mostly disappointed.

He returned a couple months after she had and Jayden had found her laying on the floor with a bottle of Jack half empty. He explained that he went to get help and everything seemed better, but she was gone. Even with the new-and-improved-Jayden, Melody preferred to be over there. Where you couldn't quite point out who your enemy was in a crowd but when the bullets started flying she knew she had people on her left and right to help her out - people that included her childhood friend Seb. She took on more of the jobs she took as a teen and detached herself from the one person who should have been there for her.

Eventually she came out of her funk around her twenty-third birthday and the two of them had a stable relationship, When her third tour came around she actually didn't want to go back and tears were shed between the two of them. Six months later she wrapped up her third deployment.

 _And shite hit the fan._

 _Hard._

Apparently the Dear Jane letter hadn't gotten to her on time. Melody instead came home to find Jayden with some sultry blond. Some _familiar_ sultry blond. She shut the door as abruptly as she opened it and snatched the keys from the table they had by the front door. That was the first time she took an extended scenic drive on her motorcycle. They worked past that, _or so I told myself_ , Melody thought as she watched the sun began to set in front of her. Meanwhile, the redhead witnessing all of this was seething at the scenes that she had seen.

The fights picked up weeks after that and there was nothing innocent about them. Everything they said hit below the belt, household items were thrown… eventually directed at the other, fists were thrown, alcohol was consumed.

 _It was the whole nine yards and some._

The fights grew worse once Melody was informed of her fourth deployment though she hadn't originally told him about it. No, This had been the topic of discussion that had fueled their current argument. Words were exchanged she threw on her leather jacket grabbed her keys and told him to expect papers. The way his face dropped was all she needed to know that he got the message. **Never** had they threatened divorce. He pleaded with her for the amount of time it took her to throw on her boots and leather leg protectors. As she neared the garage and her trusty bike he grabbed her forearm and spun her around. And Kushina gasped.

Melody could feel her left eye beginning to swell. Instead of following her instincts that told her to beat his ass she slowly turned to glare at him and shook her head. She donned her helmet started her bike and left.

 _I am twenty-six years old, I don't have time for this shite._ She thought angrily to herself unknowingly snapping her guest back from her violent thoughts. _Why the hell didn't I do this sooner!_ Melody pulled into a gas station lot and began to fill her tank. _If my family saw me now…. or my soldiers?!_ Melody knew better than most that once you were placed on a pedestal it was easy for others to forget that you too...were human. It was a form of hero worship she absolutely despised and she knew that once this got out to the company the only place that had been a safe-haven of sorts was going to turn into another war zone.

Topping off her tank the brunette made her way into the station to pay and hit up the bathroom. _Where did I go wrong?_ Melody thought to herself as she did her business. It wasn't the best station she had come across and honestly wouldn't have been surprised if the person working there now lived in one of the trailers that were parked just down the road. The sound of the toilet flushing hit her ears and she turned on the faucet to wash her hands and face. As she dried her face off the brunette found herself staring at a stranger in the mirror and Kushina had to agree.

She looked like Melody but she looked so defeated. How no one else had seen it was beyond her. Her eyes were sunken in and held bags, whether that was from her earlier tears or her time overseas - she didn't know. Her brunette locks fell to her mid-back and the sections that weren't protected by her helmet looked like a poofy mane. Only now did she notice that she forgot to throw on a shirt. Currently the only thing she had on under her jacket was a gray sports bra. _Fucking shite how did it get to this._ The soldier frowned and looked down at her feet only when someone banged on the door did she snap out of her trance. "Gimme a minute." She yelled back before looking at herself once more in the mirror and glaring.

 _You fucked up Mels. **Bad**. Own up, learn from it and carry on. _

With a nod the soldier's eyes regained their predatory-like glare that Kushina easily recognized and the brunette stepped out of the bathroom.

* * *

"Oh Gawd the jingle." She pushed herself as far back into the chair as she could with the monitor pulled up in front of her eyes. Between the beating of her heart and that Kami-awful music Melody was absolutely positively sure she was going to die. _Perhaps this is what true death feels like._ She frowned peering over the corner as the music came to an end, _this is it._ _She_ remembered her first (presumed) death well enough. She hadn't thought too much about it but the transition was a bit flawless at that time. There were still many questions she had about all of it, but this was neither the time nor place. No, right now she should be reliving her life...no lives? She should be wondering if everyone was alright back home? How the Hatake's were holding up? How fucking good that shower was going to feel. Instead she found herself thinking, _**This** is hell. For that I am sure. _

And for the second time in her life, Melody found herself wishing the best for those she was leaving behind.

Of both worlds.

Everyone in her first life knew that Nightingale was going to die doing what she loved and that was by protecting those she cared for. They didn't know the details, they didn't know just exactly how she went about protecting those -outside of her military service - but they did constantly swear up and down that it owuld be the death of her. And like the saying said, a leapord can't change its spots. It would seem that even with this second chance she threw herself into defending others. First with Kushina's childhood, to dealing with Kurama, then to Obito's upbringing followed by Sakumo's (obvious to her) loneliness and she still had every intention to sacrifice herself on what she dubbed Pearl Harbor in this shinobi world. Nope, she was still Melody Nightengale and that didn't change too much when she woke up looking into violet eyes and cerulean blue skies. Only the fun changed to a kunai and jutsu... and apparently she was more willing now to throw herself in harms way. Something she was going to have to sit down and figure out _one day._

She would take on a barrage bullets for her comrades.

She would take on blood sucking or heart devouring creatures for her loved ones.

Hell she was trying to take on a psycho-maniac who defied death for those whom shaped her into the woman she was.

But for the love of sweet American Pie,

 _This_ was just **cruel!**

Melody flinched as something fell on her shoulder. Shew as convinced that her final moments were going to be filled with excrutiating pain as she was shoved into a suit. She couldn't hear anything outside of her thundering heart.

"Rough night?" Her ears perked up, _that's... I **know** that voice._ She shook her head, _nope. It's a trick. Who is to say they aren't working with Windego._ The grasp on her shoulder tightened a bit and shook her gently. "You should go and get some sleep." It was the genuine concern -and perhaps what little hope she had left in her body - that made her doe-brown eyes slowly peer over her monitor. Instead of looking into the eyes of a cannibal or dead shiny false eyes her heart stopped. Or rather skipped a beat... or five. Beautiful _familiar_ charcoal gray eyes gleamed back at her. "Or rather haven't you slept enough..."

* * *

I _never liked pineapples._ She thought to herself as she neared her next target, _wait_ _pineapples?_ _That was a random ass thought._ She thought, _And why the **hell** does that seem important_? She hesitated and with that pause a fury of red deflected her attack. "I don't think so you prick!" Their kunai clashed against once another, _you! Are! In! My! Way!_ The hooded figure mentally yelled as she blocked the Red's attacks before kicking her leg into Red's upper chest with a chakra infused kick. Finally getting rid of the distraction her sights returned to not-quite-pineapple, only this time she felt as if she were blinded by a familiar light.

 _A ray of hope._ She thought to herself with a frown as familiar blurred images played in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder why her heart pounded how it did and why she actually _felt_ like she wanted to be standing where not-quite-pineapple was. _What the hell is a pineapple anyhow!_ She mentally grumbled as a figure blocked out the ray of hope.

She growled as everything faded back to gray and she was drawn once more into the dance that would surely bring one of them to their own demise. _He_ stepped off first and she was quick to bring her kunai up for the block while she leaned back and allowed him to flip over her with all his extra momentum. Her free hand was on the ground and she spun herself around to try and jab him with a kick - he easily blocked it and nailed her in the calf. She returned the favor by jabbing her kunai deep into his thigh forcing him to jump back and allowing her to stand.

Not a moment later he was dodging back and throwing silvery stars of death at her, after dodging she wasn't surprised to find him upon her. Their weapons clashed once more and she nearly missed the glint of silver that was coming at her moments later, the weapon hit its target but not before she substituted herself with a water clone. She couldn't help but smile, this was the most fun she had since teaming up with the bodies that covered the field. She and her dance partner were up off the ground and she allowed his blade to come down on her forearm, she took this opportunity to jab her second kunai deep into his hand.

That was one less problem she had to deal with.

Unfortunately, he took this chance to slice down her torso and in retaliation she was seeing stars as her forehead slammed into his. _That doesn't hurt nearly as much with a mask._ Realizing she had him stunned a few words ran through her mind as she took him down. _Seatbelt. Break Balance. Step. Release. Mount._ Instinctively her hand glided over his neck and she found herself with one less enemy. The only problem was that **now** she could see him. She could **hear** him choking on his own blood and **something** was telling her that this was _wrong_.

 **" _No more."_** The sudden voice shocked her, but not nearly as much when she felt herself unwillingly let go of her weapon. She looked down eyes wide at the discarded weapon and panicked when she couldn't bring herself to move from her current spot on top of her fallen enemy. _W-what?!_

Something was pulling her away from the present and no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't keep herself present.

* * *

 _She needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand what she was going through without technically having to be there. "I mean... How many times do I have to tell them that throwing me on point is just about as efficient as giving Baker the Bravo." It had been another long day of pre-deployment training and honestly Melody was not quite sure just how much luck she had left in her after all the years she had tested it. She could practically_ sense _that something was going to go wrong._

 _"It doesn't work out because you don't allow it to." Melody groaned causing her younger brother of two years to chuckle. Sometimes she didn't know why she bothered calling him. Honestly every time she called him she felt like he was getting his daily dose of comedic relief!_

 _"I am being serious here!" She practically yelled into the phone which only had him laugh harder._

 _"Look at it as a way to better yourself." He finally managed out, "You know that they know what your weakness is."_ No shite, _she couldn't help but think as her mind replayed the previous days events and all nine times she got herself killed._

 _"This isn't training bro, there are no respawns if I fuck this up."_ Seriously have they not learned anything from the last couple times I deployed and went through this crap! _"Damn it Jim. I'm a mechanic, not a point man!" Maverick only seemed to laugh harder than before and while she was upset Melody couldn't help but smile at how genuine a laugh it was._

 _"You and your quotes," There was a short pause, "But technically you are a soldier first." Melody rolled her eyes not believing her brother went there. The two of them did nothing but complain to one another about the crap they had to put up with. They were Nightingales and they had concluded that they had to have been cursed._

 _"Don't throw that shit on me."_

 _"And technically you are a medic now." Melody could only groan._

* * *

 **Ending Notes:** So I had an extremely hard time with this one and the next. I'm hoping to get the actual chapter for this week up before midnight... Sadly everyone seems to enjoy interrupting me today.

I will go back and edit this in the near future. I'll be sure to inform you guys when.

As to if I speak french, I am not going to say I do. I have an interest in it and am studying it now, but I had help with the translations

* * *

Obito: Was introduced to Kakashi through Emi due to her closeness with his father. He calls Emi/Clone Melody Obasan (Auntie). He and Rin are Four years older than Kakashi.

Obito's Gran: Only mentioned thus far. Knows Emi and allows Emi to babysit Obito.

Sakumo: Apparently has been friends with Emi for years and trusts her enough to watch after his son. He is extremely curious about the kunoichi but what exactly he thinks of her may or may not be revealed later.

Shikaku: Youngeer version than cannon and doesn't have his scars yet. Minato's best friend, friends with Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi. Future Jonin Commander and father of Shikamaru Nara. A rather importante minor character.

* * *

 **Updated 20151006**

New Notes: Well I hope you enjoyed it. I did add some seasoning for those of you who have read this already!


	18. Chapter 17

"Hokage-sama!" Startled, Hiruzen looked over from his current guests to the fiery red-head at his door. He watched as she looked questioningly to Minato who was looking at her like the love-struck puppy that he was. _Not that he has admitted it._ The elder thought to himself with a chuckle as the Uzumaki began apologizing.

"We were just finishing up here Kushina-chan." He looked over to Minato and his young apprentice who nodded and took their leave passing by the flustered Habanero. "Come on over young one." And that was all it took for the Habanero to get over her earlier embarrassment and stride over to him. "What has brought you to my office Kushina-chan?"

"Is she here?" He wasn't called the Professor for nothing, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew exactly who Kushina was going to ask about even before she came charging toward the tower.

"I fear you are going to have to be a bit more specific Kushina-chan." _I didn't think it was possible for her to deepen her glare._ He thought to himself with a slight frown before he moved a couple papers around on his desk and then motioned toward the mess as he spoke. "There plenty of people who come and go through our gates, Kushina-chan. I did not intend to belittle you." The two of them held eye contact for quite some time before she finally deflated and her shoulders slumped.

"I was training with Duy-Senpai…" She admitted after a moment, "We were in the middle of a spar when I was hit by…It was like a blur and mess of memories and intense emotions." She finally managed. "It was terrifying, Hokage-sama. She did a good job blocking the visuals," He leaned forward in his seat, "I didn't see much of anything and when I did see anything it was just a blur of colors." Violet eyes locked in with his own brown, "She was terrified." He nodded in understanding as he stood up from his seat and motioned for her to join him at the window that overlooked the village. "Inoichi has also been gone a lot as of late," She admitted, "And it is no secret that we captured an enemy kunoichi recently, ya know."

His hands were resting behind his back, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she showed up at his door. _Albeit I was hoping for a bit more time and information from the other half._ He admitted to himself. While they had managed to capture Emi, the woman in question. She had been inaccessible to them by seemingly every means, she had been conscious long enough to tell her fellow masked shinobi that she was willingly giving herself up.

Then she collapsed and has been knocked out ever since.

That was a week ago and it was because of this Hiruzen train of thought went from exactly _which_ part of Kushina Emi was to **what** exactly Emi was. She had injuries that would have dispelled clone's that he and other stronger shinobi could have produced. Then there was the matter when Inoichi's father had attempted to enter her mind. The third grasped his hands tighter behind his back, _I fear my time to overlook this peculiarity is coming to an end_. He thought to himself while dismissing his guards with a flick of a wrist. "Are you capable of putting up a seal." The Uzumaki was confused for a moment before nodding and much to his surprise created a clone.

"I have something better." The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and whether he looked it or not Hiruzen was ready to attack and apparently so were his guards who were at a further distance. "I apologize for any bruises ahead of time Hokage-sama." With that, he found himself on the receiving end of a seal he hadn't encountered yet.

* * *

"I wouldn't go back there." Melody lazily warned as the Yamanaka neared the fog and forested areas of her mind. "I am not saying you can not. I did allow full reign of this mind of mine." She replied when he arched a brow at her and crossed his arms. "What is over there is a whole new slew of nightmares-" He began walking towards the areas once more and she let out a sigh before speaking up once more. "And an S-ranked secret or two or nine." That got the blonde to pause and tense.

"Explain," He ordered as he turned to face her once more, likely trying to gauge her reaction. Melody couldn't help but stare incredulously at the Yamanaka before pointing to herself.

"ANBU." He only glared and she very childishly threw her hands up in defeat. "Look, Yamanaka-san. I have technically allowed you complete access to my mind. I am not going back on that. You can _technically_ prance down those memories if you so, please. I was offering you a warning and chance to possibly converse with the Hokage about this before you walked into things you are not privy to know."

"I am simply here to see what happened after you were sent out on your last mission."

"And _that_ is where the problem lies," She replied sagely, "This last mission of mine is unlike the others I have allowed you to see." She motioned toward the overcasted area of her mind that they had just returned from. "When you needed proof of who I was. This last mission I have compartmentalized into the area with S-ranked secrets for a reason and as I am sure you are now aware, I would not have done that without good reason." She then pointed back to the forest and fogged area of her mindscape. "There is a reason why that portion of my mind appears that way. I have learned a lot from the memories back there and they have directly affected how I became who I am."

"That would be the forest." The Yamanaka finished and she nodded. "The fact that there is an extremely dense fog would indicate that not only do you not want outside eyes to be able to easily see this area but by looking at your prior memories I can insinuate that this is where you're deepest and darker secrets are held." Melody nodded, "It is also safe to assume that only those you have allowed access to would even be able to see what I see." Again the brunette nodded as she placed one leg over the other and ran her hands across the dew-covered grass of her mind. "I have a couple of questions I would like to ask."

"I will answer to the best of my ability."

"It is safe to say that you will provide me access to this realm of your mind after I have validated permission with the Hokage."

"I would prefer him to join us in the land of the living and I see this confirmation along with what _exactly_ you **must** see," She answered looking up from her position on the ground into his blue eyes. "I would rather not live through some of those memories again if it can so be helped," She admitted rubbing the back of her head.

"I can not help but wonder if my earlier attempts at this were intentionally averted by you. And if so, why?" He paused surely to give her time to answer but Melody could practically see him holding back so she rolled her wrist in a means to get him to continue. "And how am I to know that you are hiding nothing from me now."

"That falls into that category." She smiled pointing back at the forested fog. "And I cannot answer that question until I speak with the Hokage. If my situation wasn't so...curious I could answer it, but alas it is not my secret to tell." She paused, "I guarantee that the Hokage is likely wondering the same thing and I am more than willing to answer his request." The Yamanaka nodded and opened his mouth to speak once more, but Melody interrupted. "What's your name?"

"Inori. Yamanaka, Inori." The man answered with an embarrassed flush.

"S'allright. I hadn't thought about it until just then, you know." She laughed, "Is there anything else you would like to ask before fetching our beloved Hokage?"

* * *

"YATTA!" Kushina cheered as she jumped up and threw her fist in the air... Mikoto had dubbed that her victory cheer.

She had been needing a reason to test out this particular seal for some time now. She had been able to not only seal her own clones but herself into this technique plenty of times before but honestly she wanted something better. She wanted to be able to, if necessary, send more than one person into the technique. _This_ being one of the reasons why, there was no way for someone to hear anything who wasn't in here with them.

Did she want the Third to be the **first** person she tested it on? No.

Had she expected him to just **allow** her to use it against him? No.

But she **wasn't** complaining either way and if that smile wasn't full of pride she didn't know what was.

"A creation of your own?"

"Partially," She admitted with a smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "I got the idea after reading about some other seals and while I really didn't mind Emi's encrypted messages I couldn't help but wonder if there was a way for her to send back another person or clone, or if needed herself." Kushina paused and frowned remembering why she had brought him here and why she had gone to the Hokage Tower to begin with. "Is she here?"

"She has returned although I fear it will still be quite some time before you are reunited," He admitted with a frown before pulling out his pipe from his robes. _Are there seriously pockets in that thing?!_ She couldn't help but wonder before glaring once more.

"It's been two years, Hokage-sama." She uncrossed her arms -she hadn't even noticed she had crossed- and her shoulders slumped. "Two years since I last had my other half."

"Your other half?"

"I like to think of her as an alter ego..." She paused and knitted her brows, "Or rather that's how the Yamanaka's have explained it to me." The Third nodded in understanding so she continued, "I still cannot answer exactly **how** we work. And that is not for lack of thought, ya know." She quickly added. "I've sat for hours thinking about it since you first inquired about it a year in a half ago Hokage-sama." He chuckled, "The best Inoichi and I can think of, which we haven't proven yet, of course, is that she is an alter ego of sorts. A defense mechanism-" Hiruzen nodded and Kushina wouldn't have been surprised if he had come to this conclusion on his own. "Honestly I don't know. But that's not the point. Like I said earlier, I saw something..." The Uzumaki paused seemingly trying to understand what she saw herself.

"What is it you saw Kushina-chan?" He asked his eyes twinkling though she couldn't tell you with what emotion.

"She was captured," He glanced away from the village they swore to protect and looked over at fiery red eyes. "I was in the middle of training with Dai-senpai." She admitted and began brushing her hair, "Suddenly I was hit by..." She paused trying to find the words, "I was brought to my knees with a blur of everything. I don't know what a lot of it was..." Her heart raced just remembering how terrified her elder half was and she placed a hand over her own to calm it. "I think some of her other missions began bleeding out, but they were quickly blurred and I couldn't make anything out." The Uzumaki knew she had to be careful here. It had been years now and still she had no way of explaining Melody that wouldn't end her career and possibly send her into the asylum. "What I do remember vividly is when she handed herself over. I thought I had her back, ya know. But then when I reached out it was like she was gone again."

"Gone, how?"

"Normally when she is out there I can just tell that she is there. I don't know if it works that way with everyone else, but that's typically how I feel when Emi is out there. I panicked," She admitted dropping her hair, "When I couldn't sense her anymore, couldn't feel her...but she didn't pop back in my mind. It really irked me. It had never happened before."

"And how long ago was that."

"Shortly after you sent her on her mission," Kushina admitted, "It bothered me, but I figured perhaps she was the one doing it. Protecting me again like she always is." She laughed, "It wasn't until you pulled me in that I began to really worry. And then Sakumo-senpai, her only friend, died." Kushina didn't like how his eyes narrowed for a moment before he spoke.

"Is that why you took an interest in young Kakashi." She could feel herself flush, _what is with everyone and asking me that?!_

"Hai." Taking his lead she clasped her hands behind her back, "Sakumo-sempai was an important person to me, Emi's friendship with him I believe reflected that. While I hadn't personally met him or Sakumo outside of Emi I still remember everything and have therefore still grown to care for them both, even if that was only shown through Emi. With her missing in every sense possible and Sakumo's death..." She mentally sent him a prayer, "As a friend of his. As a true friend of the Hatake's I feel obligated to look after the squirt, even if that means randomly taking him out on the rare occasion, inquiring about him or sending Duy's son out after him. Emi and I are the same person, in essence, I truly believe that." She looked into his calculating eyes, "I only did what was within my grasp. I do not for a minute believe I can get to Kakashi. Not like how Minato can and definitely not how Emi may be able to. But he has changed Hokage-sama and while I may not like it... I can guarantee that Emi is going to loathe it."

* * *

Minato Namikaze liked to think that he had a genuine understanding how things were run in the village with his dream being to become the future Hokage of the Leaf he made it his business. He also liked to believe that he knew just about everything there needed to know about his friends. Not in that 'I-stalked-them-home-and-ransacked-their-house' sort-of-way but in the 'I-have-been-around-them-enough-to-have-noticed.' And when he hadn't reached a conclusion on his own typically Shikaku and he came up with things together during their weekly Shogi nights.

So it came as a surprise to Minato when he found out, through others, that the one-time-dinner offer Kushina had extended to the young Hatake had become a sort of tradition between the two. He could understand how that wouldn't have come into conversation with Kakashi, he was quite the reserved boy even after all this time being his sensei, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how that subject had not once been mentioned any of the times Kushina hung out with him. As everyone often reminded him they were practically already a couple or rather everyone was surprised that they were not! Not that his heart didn't freak out at the idea, but if there was one thing he learned out of all of this it was that Kushina still had quite a variety of secrets, secrets she didn't feel comfortable sharing with him. To top it all off, Shikaku had insinuated that he believed that Kushina could have known that kunoichi who killed Tatsuo!

Of course he questioned the Nara endlessly about this latest conclusion and per usual by the end of it Shikaku had him at least, grudgingly, admitting that had if he witnessed the same reaction he too would have begun to wonder.

But back to the matter at hand.

Minato had offered his young student slash apprentice a free meal of his choice and after five painstakingly long minutes Kakashi had agreed. He was pleasantly surprised when Kakashi lead them to a dango shop, he hadn't taken the kid for a sweet tooth. They wer seated and in the matter of minutes they had just about extinguished every other topic of discussion and frankly there was only one subject left on his mind.

"Was she one of your friends?" Minato looked over to his young student curiously. _The Hokage wouldn't have pulled_ _the both of us aside if he didn't want me aware of the situation._ He thought to himself as a means of self-assuring himself that in fact _this_ was something he should be privy to. He popped the first roll of Miterashi Dango into his mouth when Kakashi didn't answer right away. As the seconds ticked by and in an attempt to seem nonchalant about the whole thing, he rested leaned into the table placed his elbows on the surface and rested his left cheek in his left hand. _Whoever this Emi was had obviously this person was important to both Sakumo and Kakashi._

* * *

 _"If you believe that is what is best Hokage-sama. I will accept."_

 _"As I am sure you are aware it has been some time since the boy's father took matters into his own hands and ended his life," The Hokage replied as he blew out smoke inhaled from his pipe. It had been rather sudden, he had been on his way to Kushina's for some more Seals training when Raven had intercepted him and informed him that the Hokage wanted to speak with him immediately._

 _"If you don't mind me Hokage-sama." The elder chuckled before he could even ask his question._

 _"I would be worried if you hadn't had questions Minato." The blond felt his face heat up for a moment before he regained his bearing and continued._

 _"There was never a push for him to have a mentor before now." He began and paused. Even if he was relatively friendly with the Hokage, he still was the leader of the village and his superior... Minato knew when to be tactful and he was almost positive that was one of the things the Third appreciated. "I assume something must have come up," Seeing the Third open his mouth to answer he raised a hand and continued, "I by no means need to know the reasons behind it. I am sure if you believe I had the need to know, I would. What I would like to verify is the reasons as to why **I** was chosen." Minato locked eyes with the elder and only when the Hokage nodded did he continue. "This has everything to do with him being a prodigy, does it not?" The question was simple enough but to anyone who gave it any thought and knew the slightest things about prodigy's in the past you could easily see the multiple meanings behind it. _

_"Yes." Minato frowned slightly for a moment, having been a prodigy himself he had been contacted by a number of interested parties even after Jiraiya had picked him up and formed a team. Not needing, nor wanting to hear anything more Minato bowed slightly. "Anything else?"_

 _"No, Hokage-sama."_

 _"You are dismissed." Minato straightened himself and turned to leave only when he reached the door did the Hokage speak up once more. "Bring him back to us Minato."_

* * *

"Not really." He found charcoal gray eyes looking up at him and only then did Minato realize that he was finished with his food. "Thank you for the meal, if there is nothing else I will be at the training fields." Minato nodded and with that he found himself alone at the shop. Only when Kakashi was completely out of the general vicinity did Minato allow his head to slip off his hand and land with a resounding _thud_ on the table.

"When did this get so confusing?!" He grumbled to himself.

* * *

 **Ending notes:**

I sincerely hope you guys don't hate me. Life is being stupid difficult right now. Life being work...jeez, I should get out more.

I am surprised just how important this has become as a stress reliever for me and for that I thank you guys from the bottom of my heart!

I am not going to sit here and apologize for every delayed update, I do feel bad for not being timely as I was before, but then again I am not where I was in my life as I was then. I am happy to announce that I have caught up to where I was before I had to revamp this bad boy up and therefore from this point out all the chapters shall be new for everyone to read!


	19. Chapter 18

There were a lot of things that Kushina Uzumaki was willing to accept about herself.

She stuck out. She was a badass. She was an important person in the lives of those around her. People would miss her. She would never betray her village or those she cared for. She loved Ramen. She would have a large family. She was in love with Minato. Somehow Inoichi of all people was her best guy friend. She had an alter ego. She was the host for the nine-tailed fox, or rather half of it at the moment. She would be the first Female Hokage.

Most importantly, she followed her instincts or as Melody like to call it. She stuck to her guns . . . whatever the hell that meant.

And at this precise moment as she sat across the table from her best friend and her recently turned husband. Kushina's gut was telling her that something was _off_. There was something that Mikoto was keeping from her and it was **BIG**.

It was life changing, she just _knew_ it.

A nudge from Minato on her left snapped Kushina out of her thoughts and back into reality. "You looked like you were going to eat them, are you that hungry Kushina?" The Uzumaki snapped her attention to Minato and punched him in the arm.

"No, I was just thinking. Can't a girl think without being called fat?" Mikoto softly smiled and if Kushina didn't know any better she would have sworn that Fugaku's lip twitched a bit. Minato, on the other hand, looked like a cat that had been drenched in water, "It's no wonder you aren't seeing anyone yet, baka. We **need** to work on your flirting skills." The kunoichi crossed her arms and nodded to herself. "I will just interlace that with your current Fuuinjutsu training hours and see where we stand in a month."

"Did I hear correctly?" Fugaku spoke up, much to Kushina's surprise, he _was_ typically silent throughout these little outings. Seriously, it made her question whether or not he and Minato were truly friends. The both of them hardly spoke! "You are trying to help Minato hook up with someone." Kushina paused for a moment at the use of his slang and the way he had phrased his question, before beaming and uncrossing her arms leaning forward.

"Are you worried as well, Fugaku?" She never cared too much for honorifics, but in this case, she was doing it because she knew it would bother him and she couldn't stop herself from smirking when she saw his lip twitch downward for a moment.

"What do you mean Kushina?" Mikoto asked, apparently confused by her trail of thought. Not that she could blame Mikoto though. While her best friend had a good idea on where she was going with things in the past, they didn't quite hang out nearly as much as they did then. Apparently getting married meant that your significant other was attached to your hip in the Uchiha Clan... that or there were Uchiha within eyeshot of you at all times. Kushina didn't give a rats ass about the extra supervision, but it did bother Mikoto and thus the escapades of Mikoto and Kushina slowly dwindled down.

"What do you mean, what do I mean Mikoto?" Did she notice the people who were paying more attention to their table than the prior conversations they were having? Yes, yes she did and frankly it was why she was motivated to milk this out. "Minato Namikaze here." She brought her hands down on his shoulders for emphases, "Is almost nineteen years old and a shinobi! He shows more interest in his new Jutsu than he does in women. An amazing feat, given his sensei."

"Kushina please." The teen in question pleaded shaking her off, Kushina rolled her eyes then proceeded to slap her hand over his mouth.

"Please Minato, this is for your own good." She paused, "I am legitimately concerned here and I _intend_ on keeping that promise." Mikoto was openly smiling and even Fugaku had a smirk on his features as Minato removed her hand from his mouth.

"It was a joke Kushina." His plea earned him a glance from Kushina before she shook her head frowning. Then she looked over to the growing audience around here as she patted his head, ignoring how soft his hair felt of course.

"See, he doesn't even understand how severe this is." Kushina cried out to the crowd, then jumped over in front of Minato and held both his hands to her chest as if she were explaining something to a child. "Minato-hun we are at war." _I am rather enjoying the shade of pink you are turning._ She thought to herself, "The chance of you dying out there is growing by the day. On top of your prowess in the battlefield you are a bloody genius." She allowed him to snatch his hands back so that she could stand back up and place her hands on her hips to scold him. "It is _**imperative** _ to the village that you settle down and have children. Who the hell am I supposed to train if you manage to kill yourself before I do?" Minato seemed to still be reeling at the information and Kushina took this pause to turn back to the audience. "As Minato Namikaze's best friend I am here to announce that I shall step back and allow anyone interested in courting my dear friend free reign. Or rather, free reign so long as they pass my judgment and trials. I will not say what they shall be, and they will not be the same tests for everyone. OOMPH~"

"As Kushina Uzumaki's best friend you too shall have to pass the judgment of my husband and myself," Mikoto spoke as Kushina fell onto Minato with a grunt. "That way if Kushina were to find herself busy with a mission of some sort you snakes cannot slither your way past her." Her heart was racing and while she knew that somehow in Melody's memories she got together with Minato, Kushina could not justify it. The woman that Minato married was way above her, she was perfect for him and Minato deserved just that the perfect woman.

Remembering just where it was, she landed the red head looked up into those familiar blue eyes and smiled as she tried to calm her heart. Minato didn't look the least bit amused by the whole spectacle, but that was alright. This was what was best for him and she would find him that perfect woman that they had talked about before the war completely took over their lives. Kushina offered him her best smile she could without betraying just how much her heart was twisting about all of this. She pushed away all those feelings when he seriously looked at her and seemed to be trying to figure out just what exactly she was planning.

She liked to call that his calculating look.  
It was almost as adorable as he thinking look.

She threw her finger on top of his lips when he made to talk and shook her head all while managing to keep her smile in place. _Honestly, I should be a freaking actress at this rate._ "I don't break my promises." With that, she removed her finger and crossed her arms, "Now shut up. Sit still and let me think." Only when he relaxed did she shut her eyes and fall back into her mind.

She didn't know what kind of deal Melody and Kurama had going on, but no amount of nagging whining or demanding had gotten him to reveal any more about Melody or her immediate future. It was rather annoying. Kushina was glad that she had Melody to begin with, she had some sort of starting point as to what kind of person Minato should end up with. She had to have a personality for one. Kushina would not sit back and allow Minato to marry a cookie-cutter, easy-to-forget woman that populated most of his Fanclub. Yes, he had a Fanclub and yes she was well aware. She had to be a woman who wouldn't be defenseless without him. What with that new technique he was quickly mastering Minato was going to have enemies, that was without a doubt. This woman would need to be able to hold her own and face danger head on if needed and remain level-headed, the last thing Minato would need was a girl he was going to have to save or force him to pick between the village obligations or her. There was also the fact while she would be able to face danger and stand up for herself she would have to care

And most importantly she had to love Minato endlessly. Kushina would rather die than sit back and watch as someone took advantage of the idiot, use him or abuse him. He deserved a woman who would throw herself in the way of danger if it meant saving him or the thing he holds closest to him... the village.

 _What with that hero complex of his she'd need to slap him around if needed as well._ Kushina thought as she envisioned this perfect spouse.

 _She has to be out there somewhere, right?_

* * *

He had spent all, this time, preparing himself for the worse. People who ended up in T&I, or rather those he had seen were never in good condition. Sure, he was positive that compared to some other places Konoha was a bit more lenient with their Torture and Investigation Unit... but it was still just that and he had seen a couple of other convicts during his time as a shinobi.

There would be blood, bruises, broken bones.

He would be looking into the eyes of the _enemy_. Of an enemy who slew countless shinobi's lives during the beginning of the war without so much as batting an eyelash. An enemy that once walked amongst them and called this her home, a woman who had fooled them and fed information to the enemy who had recently appeared to be making a comeback in this war. He'd be looking into the eyes of a stranger...of a cold-blooded murderous stranger.

Instead, he found her sitting in front of him sitting at a simple desk with a smile plastered on her face.

Months, all these months he had spent where he was not allowed to visit her mentally preparing himself to be ready for the worst. Trying to erase the memories he held and replace them with the trust. She was a murderer and an enemy of the village. His enemy.

The Third had informed him that she had handed herself over but had left any details about what she was doing, or why she was with T&I during all this time to himself. As he sat trying to prepare himself for the inevitable encounter, they would have -because why wouldn't they? She had practically raised him- Kakashi found himself listening in on anything anyone said when her name or rather 'the new prisoner' was mentioned. Funny, because typically rumors were things that went in one ear and out the other with him, they were simply not worth his time and while they could be a decent source for information one shouldn't get hung up on it. He knew this, he knew the rules like the back of his hand. Yet he found himself listening to anything that anyone spoke about when she was involved.

And he **couldn't** help it.

Yet here she was sitting in front of him in a relaxed manner- if her legs crossed and her slouched position meant anything. She looked no different than how he remembered her all those years ago. She looked so familiar, so inviting... _She is still an enemy of the village and, therefore, no friend of mine._ Kakashi thought to himself trying to ignore the gaping hole that thought had left in his chest. _She killed countless Konoha-nin and has her own page in our bingo books._ Images of days long gone played through his mind even now as he tried to convince himself otherwise. _Everything before was a lie, a trick to get close to you and Sakumo._ The way she looked down at him when he first met him. _She gave herself up to try and win her way back into the village through her lies._ The way she would swat his father for one reason or another before rolling her eyes and continuing cooking dinner. _She invited you here to use you to obtain that goal._ The look on her face when she pelted him with a snowball as he made his way toward the main gate for a mission. _She doesn't care for you, Obito, Kushina or anyone else she associated with here._ Or the day she dyed his father's hair neon pink after the first time she babysat Obito and himself. _Dammit Kakashi, let her go!_

Knowing all of this, his mind immediately replayed the memory he re-lived after his father's death, back when he believed she was dead too. She had sent him to bed earlier in the night explaining that she had to go out and pick up a dog who had lost his way back home. He hadn't thought too much of it, as frequent as she was in his life he knew she lived a life of her own and had chalked that up as her saying her dog got loose or something. It wasn't as if she gave him time to question her, Kakashi was almost positive that she put him to sleep with how quickly he passed out.

He had been asleep and had she not dropped his father on the coffee table, having mistaken it for the couch -so she claimed-, he'd likely had stayed asleep. Instead, he walked into the living room to find Emi complaining about how stupid his father had acted during the mission as she healed them. At the time, Kakashi would have never imagined that this memory, with them covered in blood, gashes, and open wounds, would turn out to be one of his most precious memories. He even remembered that nasty gash running up her thigh that she blatantly ignored to patch up his father. Seconds after he entered the room she looked up at him and their eyes met. Unlike in his other dreams, he wasn't looking into a pair of dead soulless eyes staring back at him or the eyes of this murderous kunoichi who killed leaf shinobi for sport, Kakashi found himself looking into the same pair of eyes he remembered and yearned for. The eyes that made him feel safe, warm, loved.

She then would wave him over and proceed to tell him just how stupid his father had been during the mission as she placed him between her legs before bending over to continue healing his father. And this time when his father looked at him his eyes were shining with mirth and life as he reached out and ruffled his hair.

Then he would wake up and be brought back to the cold reality of life.

His father had killed himself.

His father had killed her.

They were both dead.

And he was all alone.

Luckily, it would appear that while Emi, in fact, spent a lot of time with either him and his father or his annoying teammate she apparently maintained a healthy and eventful relationship with Kushina. His sensei's obvious love interest and the woman who came up with questionable training sessions given the opportunity. He would have never guessed that the two of them knew one another so well.

He went out on dinners and listened to Kushina reminisce about her experiences with the woman. The two of them got into quite a bit of mischief apparently and Kakashi learned just who in fact was behind the pranks going on around the village. While Emi did not take part in all of them she did help plan them to some degree.

Kakashi was quick to note that in every story Emi was spoken abut in the past tense, _I wonder if Kushina is aware of her return?_ The Chunnin thought to himself as he walked over to the chair and sat. "I am an enemy of the village..." Kakashi frowned behind his mask as she leaned into the table placed her elbows upon it and rested her head in the palms of her hands. "I am surprised that you came at all, from what I inferred they have made me out into quite the enemy..." Inori tensed behind her.

He had convinced himself, or rather tried to convince himself that she was dead. That his father had been the death of her, yet here she was sitting before him looking no worse for wear. He heard next near to nothing about her except for these rumors that apparently had reached even her ears. Kakashi had never expected the woman that had turned themselves into the ANBU forces to have been her, especially when he overheard some of his fellow peers speak about how this woman was wanted for massacring units of their forces in these last couple years.

He still didn't want to believe it.

There had to be more to the story than he was aware.

"Why?"

He wouldn't admit it, not to anyone except for maybe her...but he was worried. This could easily spin into a familiar tale that he had just lived through - a tale that he didn't want to relive given the option. "You are going to have to be a bit more specific with your question," Emi sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "Have you been hanging around 'Shina? She has the same problem, you know. Always talking in the third person when referring to more than on person and not being specific enough with her inquiries to get the question she wants to be answered, answered."

He knew that she knew that he knew that she was being coy with him. He narrowed his eyes and she smirked.

"Look, Kakashi. I am good at reading people, yes. I can typically tell what exactly which answer one wants from me. But with you, right now after all of this." She motioned with her arm, "On my own I can conjure up a couple of different questions that your one 'why' could be alluding toward." He frowned from under his mask and that frown only deepened when he saw the edges of her lips turn upward. "I missed you too Otōto."

Kakashi was just going to act that he didn't see Inori failing to suppress a smirk behind her.

* * *

Shikaku could easily see that something was grating on his friends nerves as of late and he had a pretty good idea of what it was that had the Namikaze so unnerved. Honestly, it was nice to see his friend squirm these last couple of months. He would go as far to say that it was amusing at first even. Now he had his fair of laughs and knew that if nothing was done about it that Minato would likely do something incredibly stupid and ruin any chances of him ever resolving the source of all his problems as of late... "I couldn't help but overhear one of my cousins mention you at our last family get together." Shikaku couldn't help it when Minato's posture turned rigid he openly laughed. "So you are the blond on every female's lips these days."

"I don't want to talk about it." Minato was seething as he looked down at the board Shikaku rolled his eyes before falling onto his side and watching his friend move the piece. He rested his cheek in the palm of his hand as Minato let go of the piece then proceeded to overtake said piece.

"You're getting sloppy." And with that Minato finally let loose.

"What exactly does she have to gain from all of this?"

"Who?"

"Kushina, obviously." Minato snapped, "I don't understand what her motives for all of this are and why on earth did Mikoto offer up her help and Fugaku's?!" He grabbed his chin as if trying to work all of it out. "Better yet, why did Fugaku agree... could this seriously be a problem?" He muttered to himself and Shikaku laughed earning a glare.

"And here I thought Fugaku's involvement was simply a pure exaggeration."

"You knew?"

"Who doesn't? You've got the whole female population talking about it." Minato groaned

"I feel like that would be something you would have brought up out of curiosity."

"What I am curious about is this promise that you made to initiate all of this." Shikaku watched as Minato thought back for a moment. "It was apparently important enough for her not to only remember but to act upon."

"It was years ago, after _that_ mission." Minato frowned, "Mikoto and I had took her out to grab some barbecue... after convincing her for thirty minutes that there were other things to eat other that ramen. Mikoto had been escorted back just as we finished our meals for one reason or another and that left Kushina and I to ourselves." He laughed, "After failing to try and shake me for an hour she lead us to Training Ground Three and we talked a bit there. She talked about her home and one of her good friends that she had recently run into again. I talked about my time in the orphanage. I don't know how it ended up there, but eventually we started talking about the future. What we wanted to do with our lives, outside of us both wanting to become Hokage obviously." Shikaku nodded when the blond looked over at him before retreating back to his memories. "She was the one who started talking about how she wanted a big family. Five or so kids, ridiculous really... but she had just finished talking about how big families in Uzushiogakure were and how she really wanted siblings growing up."

"Something I remember you mentioning a couple of times when we were younger," Shikaku reminded him.

"Yeah," Minato smiled and nodded, "Before she gave me a chance to talk about what kind of family I wanted..."

"She asked you about your ideal woman?" When Minato merely nodded Shikaku smirked, "Troublesome." The two of them continued on with their game and Shikaku got the feeling that Minato was purposely avoiding contact with him for the same reason he was not answering the question. At this point, the village had accepted that the two of them were a thing, therefore while Minato still maintained a fanbase none of them bothered with him. Kushina was quite a terrifying woman, Shikaku could easily admit that, so naturally the two of them would surely realize that they were all but officially together. Having Kushina announce to the world that Minato was up on the marked did derail the inevitable, but honestly Shikaku couldn't see anyone but the two of them together. Apparently the Uchiha's were in that boat as well and doing as much damage control as they could, whether or not Fugaku was doing it because he wanted Kushina and Minato together or not was not something the Nara bothered with. "I think that is enough for today." Shikaku sighed as he watched Minato fall into another obvious trap.

"What?" His friend looked up to him and Shikaku frowned and motioned to the board with his eyes. "Oh...Haha, my mind must be somewhere else."

"Obviously."

* * *

"Ah, senpai!"

"You don't get to call me that." Melody couldn't help but grumble incoherent swears to herself as she crossed her arms and ignored her sempai's intensifying glare. "Was this always your endgame? Fooling the entire village into believing that you were an ally?" The brunette bit the inside of her lip as she listened to the blond speak. "Tricking Shizune and me into believing that you were a friend, an ally. Learning my techniques to turn around and use them against my own village?!" She wanted to talk, boy did Melody want to open her mouth and defend herself, but she knew enough about the busty blond to know that speaking would only make things worse. Especially with her being as _young_ as she was. "Now that I think about it," She sauntered around the table and slammed a hand onto the desk, cracking it. "Word is that you and Sakumo were a thing. Was that another setup? Part of this plan of yours?"

The number of times Melody had been truly terrified could fit on maybe a hand, give or take a finger.

Since she had arrived here she had only been terrified one time before now, not including those bloody nightmares. The fact of the matter was that Melody wanted nothing more than to curl herself up into a ball and disappear, to become one with the chair she was sitting in and simply _not_ be. What she would give right now to just clock out, not that she couldn't...she sure as hell could, years in the service had taught her that, but there was something about falling asleep on **this** woman that seemed like a death sentence.

And she wasn't willing to test her luck.

"That's enough Tsunade." Situational awareness was something thing had saved her life even here, in this world where people could literally bend the elements to their will. So having not noticed the man with the largest pools of chakra enter the same building as her, nevertheless room, severely ruffled her fur. The cherry on top? Well, Kurama was getting a good laugh out of this.

"Sensei," The elder cut off his student before she could continue.

"She has been thoroughly interrogated by T&I and I can confidently inform you that not once during her time held captive to Iwa forces did she utilize her strength or any of the techniques you entrusted in her." The brunette let out a sigh of relief and sent a grateful look over to the elder.

"You wound me Sempai," Melody chuckled the second she spotted Tsunade's brow twitch. "I was hand picked by Hokage-sama and in the Anbu for years. I am also quite versed in Seals before they could have extracted any information out of my mind I had two options." Melody's grin deepened as she saw the cogs in the Sannin's head begin to gear up.

"You sealed away your memories." Melody nodded as the Third added to her revelation.

"If they had even suspected that she was a seals master and bothered to tamper with her seals she had a fail-safe." Amber eyes turned back over to her former sensei and current leader of the village. "There was a memory erasing seal and if all else failed."

"I am Anbu if I had to kill myself, it would have been done." Melody waved it off as it wasn't worth mentioning, "All chuckles aside Sempai you should really get that eyebrow checked out." That seemed to floor the both of them and Melody chalked that up as a win, "You got this curious twitch going on." Melody flinched back when the blond lifted a fist knowing that she was going to pay for that... eventually. Tsunade was to be the Godaime was she not?

"Now if you would excuse us." The Third interrupted, Amber eyes flickered from Melody to the Third then back to Melody.

"You got lucky this time, Gaki." Melody smiled as the woman sauntered back toward the door and gave it a good slam.

"Why do I suddenly feel safer in here all of a sudden." The two of them shared a laugh for a moment as a familiar _male_ blond shuffled into the room. Spotting his hesitation, Melody waved him in as the Third spoke.

*"Deru kui wa utareru."

"You know what they say," The brunette paused trying to find the words, "Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu?" Both Inori and the Third broke into laughter, confusing the soldier who was almost foolishly positive that she had said that correctly. "Well, this is awkward. Don't tell me I said something severely embarrassing." The two laughed harder, "That's just my luck. I did, didn't I. Son ova bitch."

"Now that we are all here. I think it is about time we talk about allowing Kushina in to see you." The Third began, though didn't get too far as Melody pulled herself upright and placed her hands on her lap with a scowl. What could she say old habits, no matter how old, die hard.

"Absolutely not."

"The both of you are the same person, being apart for as long as you guys have been is completely unheard of." Inori elaborated. The three shared a pregnant silence before Melody leaned back into her seat and rolled her eyes."It would greatly benefit the both of you."

"Surely she has heard about my arrest already." She crossed her arms. "I am already aware that she has sat down and spoke with the Third." Melody motioned over to the elder in question who nodded, "From what I have heard from Kakashi, Hokage-sama and yourself she seems to have settled down. Normalized even. Let her continue to develop on her own for a bit-"

"You are not ready to see her." Melody glared over at the Yamanaka who seemed almost shocked at the realization himself. "That's it isn't it?"

"I dun wanna talk about it." Melody did not see Inori give an exasperated look to the Third nor the smile the elder offered the Yamanaka. She was in full-out pout mode, arms crossed eyes closed and head jerked away from the two of them. Honestly, the brunette wanted nothing more than to join with the redhead, it had been ages since they were together and it would give Melody some time to fully delve into the shit she had been through and contemplate her next move without interruption. Thing was, well Melody was beginning to worry that maybe her presence here had altered something extremely important.

As in the-main-protagonist-may-not-be-born important.

She wasn't sure when exactly Minato and Kushina became a thing. Like holding hands, meeting up and going out, awkward first date sort of thing. Melody couldn't help but feel completely useless right now. Sure she got to meet a lot of the cast she had been dying to learn more about and had even met some people she wouldn't have batted an eyelash for... but when it came to being of any use she had a pretty good place to start with the Sakumo thing and apparently she managed to fuck that up. Seriously, she had what one friend? She managed to keep complete strangers alive for years through multiple deployments. So yes, she felt like a complete and absolute failure once she heard that her **one** friend _still_ killed himself!

She'd likely **never** get over that.

"It's not a matter of whether you want to talk about it or not," Inori growled, "Quit acting like a child." She opened a single eye and stuck her tongue out at him. _I'm thirty-three years old, if he **wants** childish I can bloody well give him childish. _ The Yamanaka rolled his eyes and again Melody chalked it up as a win.

"How are you feeling." If it had been anyone else but the Hokage, no. If it had been Inori or any other Yamanaka asking her she would flick them off and tell them to sit on it and turn. She was **beyond** tired of that question, but it _was_ the Hokage...and if there was anyone she actually attempted to not lie blatantly to- it was this guy. The Third was a lot of things old being one of them and she felt no shame in thinking that. Shinobi didn't live to be his age, especially in these times. The fact that he was still alive at the moment and would continue to live for the next decade and some change was awe inspiring. He was going to be nearing seventy before his wayward student would come back and send him to his maker. _Another thing I have to keep in mind._ Melody thought as she looked into the Third's old wizened calculating eyes. _I have absolutely no urge to test my luck with this fucker who could still be considered spritely compared to the Sarutobi of my memories._

"Tired." She uncrossed her arms and offered a pathetic excuse for a smile, "Tired and wanting nothing more than to see my loved ones. Or rather precious people." She corrected, "But I know that is not for the best."

"Why not."

"They have changed."

"People change."

"My best friend is dead. Killed himself and left his son to the vultures." She cringed at the image her mind created, "He loved Kakashi I _**know**_ that. Kakashi is unique, different... his father's death..." She paused and frowned looking down at the table. "He needs someone."

"Some would say you are exactly what he needs."

"He believes heavily in the rules and bullshit. No offense to the late Nidaime." She quickly added, "I am an enemy of the village. Everything he is supposed to hate with every fiber of his heart. I saw the struggle in his eyes. He is on the precipice of something beautiful. What he needs is exactly what he has. He needs to learn that your teammates **are** more important than any stupid mission. Failure happens. You can't bring back the dead, ya know. His father did the right thing damn it all and he wasn't at bloody fault." She could feel her eyes begin to water, "This isn't his fault either. He didn't kill his father."

"You didn't either, Emi." Watery doe-brown eyes locked with their leaders wizened brown orbs and she scoffed then chuckled.

"There is nothing any of you can say to make me believe otherwise," Inori grunted, "No. You saw. You know. I didn't want you to, but you did. I am much older than what you expected. I am not the Fox, but I am not Kushina either. I am me. I knew about this..." She sighed and leaned back into her chair, "And even if I didn't I have been playing the self-blame game for thirty years. And I have no intention of changing."

"Speaking of _that._ " Inori looked over to the Third and came to stand in front of her. "I don't believe it is wise to divulge further with that information."

"Yes. Knowledge is, in fact, power, but too much of it can unravel everything we'd believe we would know." The Third agreed, "I entrust you have come to this conclusion as well." Melody nodded, "Plus outside of Sakumo's suicide... to which you didn't even know the day it doesn't appear that you have any definite dates for any of these events." Melody was beyond glad that she was able to keep **big** events out of their grasp, with no help from the snoozing Kurama need she add "On top of that I didn't recognize a lot of the shinobi seen."

"If anything were to become of me in the future I have set up _things_ to ensure that Kushina would have access to said memories." Melody interrupted, "She isn't completely aware of everything at the moment, but that is to change as time progresses."

"You were under the impression that you would seize to exist as time passes," Inori added, "Exactly how did you come to that conclusion." Melody glanced over to the Third and sighed when he saw that he too was interested.

"I am still hashing that out at the moment, as soon as I have a more definitive hypothesis I promise to get back to you." It wasn't a complete lie, but the brunette was almost positive that the both of them saw through it

"Speaking of Kushina." The Third added as he made his way to the door, "Anything we speak of within these walls or between our current company is to be uttered to her or anyone else outside of said company. " Inori and Melody shared a look before turning to the Hokage.

"Hai."

* * *

 _"Aren't you the bride?" Kushina whined Mikoto rolled her eyes as she placed two more dressed on the bar for the redhead to try on. "Doesn't that mean that you have a say in what I am stuck wearing?" The Habanero in question swung the curtain opened revealing an extremely flustered and awkward looking Uzumaki. Mikoto gave her best friend a warning glare as the redhead spun upon demand to show off the dress. "What if we are attacked?!"_

 _"We are not going to be attacked?"_

 _"I couldn't get to my kunai pouch if I needed it." To prove her point, Kushina lifted the hem of the skirt and shuffled it up to where her pouch was located._

 _"You will not have a need for it."_

 _"I could have a heatstroke." Mikoto could easily see her friend's skin glisten, but given the fact that Kushina had been extremely animated during this whole ordeal she was sure that it was of no fault but her own._

 _"It will be the middle of winter."_

 _"This is just putting a target on your backs."_

 _"Kushina, really?" Mikoto laughed behind her hand, honestly, the redhead had been fighting her from the very moment she saw the pieces she would be trying on. "Anyone who tries to sabotage this wedding is suicidal. Shinobi actively avoid attacking an Uchiha on their own." Kushina's shoulders slumped, seemingly finally accepting her fate as the maid-of-honor. "Now straighten your back," Mikoto ordered walking over to the Uzumaki and swatting her, "You are attending an **Uchiha** wedding and were allowed to be the maid-of-honor. Don't make me regret that." Kushina tensed and stood up straight._

 _"Yes, ma'am." Mikoto didn't recognize the thing she did with her hand as she spoke, but the Uchiha chalked it up to Kushina just being Kushina. Looking over her friend as she stood straight the Uchiha shook her head, she didn't like how this looked with her hair one bit. "So, what's the verdict?" Mikoto openly smiled and Kushina deflated. "I do **not** like that look. Make it go away." The black haired bride-to-be turned around and grabbed the two dresses she had hanging behind her. "No, no. You said that  this was the last one." _

_"The sooner you put them on the sooner you are done~!" Mikoto gleefully chirped as she shoved both her friend and the dresses into the changing room. "We aren't leaving here until you look perfect." With that, she shut the door and Kushina expressed her disdain with an unladylike groan that drew out for a couple of seconds._

* * *

"That was absolutely horrible!" Kushina cried out remembering that day a bit too clearly for her liking. She would have rather been told to show up butt naked than have to try on any of those dresses. She had nightmares about those things and she would rather not talk about how she had become tangled in the fabric later in the day.

"I still can't believe that you can't do anything with that hair of yours." Mikoto frowned as she made to reach over and run her hands through the locks. Honestly, they spent days trying to get her hair to do anything but fall straight toward the ground. She had threatened to set it on fire just to see if it would fry up like everyone else's hair did. Needless to say, Kushina didn't like that idea one bit and tried to make a break for it out the nearest window after the words had left her mouth. _Leave it to Kushina to be overdramatic about the silliest of things._ Mikoto though when her stomach hit the table her fingers mere inches away from those red locks.

"Sooooo, how is it!" Kushina asked leaning into the table to help her friend and practically purred when delicate hands ran through her hair. _Case and point._ She thought with a smile.

"It has its ups and downs." The redhead reeled back and crossed her arms, not giving a damn about what the others in the district thought as they passed. "Honestly, up until about a week ago I just went about on my merry way." Mikoto didn't bite her lip, but Kushina easily spotted the twitch. "Silencio." Kushina placed her hands on the table and quickly threw up her silencing seal, Mikoto threw up a Genjutsu of them talking about flowers and cooking. "Honestly, I could have gone the rest of the pregnancy without the morning sickness."

"And?"

"Have you been surrounded by people yet felt completely alone?" Kushina thought back to when she first arrived at Konoha and nodded. "Imagine feeling like that every day all the time." Mikoto leaned back in her seat, "Fugaku's job seems to be bothering him quite a bit lately as well and he won't talk to me." Kushina reeled back slightly not sure what she thought about the sudden openness Mikoto was expressing. "It's not like I am some decoration or prize, right? I'm no civilian either, I can likely help... why won't he talk to me?" Kushina shifted her weight in the chair and took a slow sip of her tea. "I am not useless, right?" Mikoto was on the verge of tears.

 _Mikoto is an Uchiha. Kushina_ reasoned, _sure an Uchiha that showed more emotions than most. She knew how to smile, how to laugh... but Mikoto never **cried.** Much less looked like she was going to! I saw her impaled! And she _ smirked _!_

 _What the hell is going on?!_

* * *

 _"Oh, you look nothing like I would have imagined." Gai and his father looked to their left at the teen who had sat down but minutes before. "Ah- I mean Ohiyo! My names Emiko, nice to meetcha!" Gai glanced over to his father who nodded and turned his attention back to Teuchi. Looking back at the teen he found her hand sticking out toward him and without further ado he shook it._

 _"My name is Maito, Gai. The pleasure is mine!" She seemed genuinely interested in talking to him._

 _"I see you at the academy often, are you trying to become a shinobi?" Gai smiled widely at the question._

 _"Yes! Are you a ninja yourself?"_

 _"Kunoichi? Maa, it took a lot of hard work and perseverance but after failing twice I f managed to pass!"_

 _"You failed the academy too?" Gai didn't notice, but his father and Teuchi had both taken an interest in their conversation._

 _"Hai, my chakra coils are severely underdeveloped for someone my age. The only thing I seemed to catch onto was Taijutsu at first and was told that I would never become a Kunoichi." She crossed her arms, but Gai saw a fire behind her eyes that he had never seen outside of his fathers. "So I took it upon myself to not only develop my coils but also train my body endurance wise. If my Ninjutsu and Genjutsu wouldn't help me, then I'd have to learn how to take a beating."_

 _"Where is your headband?" Gai watched as the kunoichi crossed her arms and pouted._

 _"Shishou took it from me. Said something about having to earn her respect and prove that I am worthy of such a possession."_

 _"Shishou?"_

 _"Hai. I want to be just like her when I get older. Mature, Strong, Respected. I'll have to work hard, but I know I can get there. Do you have anyone you look up to Gai?" Gai nodded and pointed back to his father._

 _"My dad. He is the strongest ninja I know. He specializes in Taijutsu, maybe you can train with him and me when you come back."_

 _"Come back?"_

 _"You and your Shishou are traveling around are you not?" The teen seemed surprised but nodded anyway. "So when you come back to the village, maybe you can train with me and my dad! Better yet! I too shall be a ninja myself and then we can spar with one another!"  
_

* * *

"I don't understand you," Melody muttered as she sat cross-legged in front of Kurama with her head tilted to the side. "First you are all, 'Oh make sure to conceal your mind so no one has easy access to this part of our mind...or bunnies, rabbits or bears.' You ass." Kuruma was curled up into a ball making it seem like he was trying to sleep, she knew better. "Then you're all shite that idea, let me slip in as many things as I can to aggravate my hostess."

 **"I do what I damn well, please,"** He spoke after a couple of moments of the brunette merely glowering at him.

"Oi, I am well aware."

 **"You may be older than the Gaki, but you are but a flicker of time in my existence."**

"I am quite aware that you are as old as dirt as well." That got Kurama to open one of his eyes and glare, Melody merely shrugged with a smile happy that she wasn't talking to a 'hip' Fox as Gai would put it. "I just want to know why you had me put all that time and energy into trying to conceal everything from the Hokage only for you to WikiLeaks some extremely personal stuff."

 **"He was suspicious of you."**

"I had my suspicions." Kurama rolled his eye and shut it as he continued speaking.

 **"Your Companion is dead."** Melody made a noise for him to continue. **"Outside of his young pup and the Gaki you have no other ties to the village. He would be stupid to not question if Kushina was a tie for you to stay or the only thing holding you back from leaving. Additionally, I am involved. If you were actually me running around..."** Melody nodded and rolled her wrist for him to continue when he opened his eye. **"By offering up information, vital personal information about who you truly are you have shown them that you trust them both to an extent. You have proven that you are not quite Kushina and have gotten their minds wondering about how to solve your Delima. They saw a lot of things they do not understand, witnessed events that have yet to pass. And events that no one should have knowledge of in this village outside of those directly involved. Events projected through what appears to be a television."**

"SparkNotes this. I'll figure out the details later."

 **"You have two more people you can be yourself around."** Melody paused ignoring the Fox as he stood to malinger in another portion of her mindscape as she took in all the information. It was true, to an extent she could easily now be herself around both Inori a well-respected Clan Head of the village and the Hokage himself... Melody would be one of the first to tell you that the bloody Fox was a Git, but she'd never claim him to be stupid. Sure, she was older than Kushina by a lifetime...literally and knew about a slew of things that had yet to pass. She could easily see the logic behind revealing what Kurama did, she had contemplated it during her stay with T&I on a number of occasions. Unlike the Fox, she was human and she held her doubts, she couldn't see past possibly being locked away to be poked and prodded for the rests of her time here... it wasn't her freedom she would miss most. If she were to be completely honest it would be the trust she had worked her ass off to gain with both Kurama and Kushina.

Now the situation had been taken out of her control, the option no longer of her choice and while she understood the **need** for the leakage...it still pissed her off. It was almost as bad as the time a certain mage in her game blew up the Chantry in front of her. Her reaction had been instinctual. She didn't falter and when she replayed the game knowing what was going to happen no matter how much she tried to talk herself out of it, she stabbed him in the chest.

Every. Single. Time.

It was a peeve of hers, sue that was beside the point.

Melody's eyes narrowed as she awoke back in the world of the living wondering if his fur would make a good scarf.

* * *

"Are you not interested in me?" Minato paled having been in this situation more times than he liked to admit. The woman standing in front of him was beautiful in her own right, she had lush blonde locks that fell into waves past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a curious shade of seafoam green that he had yet to see on anyone else. Her skin looked like it had seen its fair share of sunlight, but was well taken care of. There was absolutely not reason why she couldn't find herself into the arms of any man she wanted.

Any man beside himself, that is.

While she was beautiful, even he could admit it she just wasn't what he was looking for. No, while those blonde locks were beautiful and the waves framed her face perfectly it was just wrong... too short, too animated and the wrong color. Her eyes were very unique, they had spoken about them during their pseudo-date, but they didn't lure him or demanded his attention like a certain pair of violet eyes. And while her skin was tanned and her physic very voluptuous it was almost too much.

"You are a very beautiful woman, Kotone-" He didn't even have the chance to explain himself before she was running out of the tea house with tears trailing behind her. Minato gave an exasperated look at the waitress who offered him giggled and shook her head before returning to her other customers. It had been months since this whole ordeal began, honestly Minato was surprised about the sheer number of women who were interested in him. The fact that Kushina, Mikoto, and Fugaku kept most at bay actually terrified him, he hadn't sat down and thought about just how many were interested in him.

It was all mind boggling even for him.

"That seemed to have gone better than the last four."

"Kakashi-kun, nice of you to join me." The teen sat across from him with a glass of water. "Is there anything you need?" The Hatake shook his head and took a drink of his cup. "Enjoying the show?" He didn't say anything, but Minato somehow felt as if that was the answer. "Have you made a habit of watching me, Kakashi-kun?"

"Who hasn't at this point." Minato frowned, "But unlike your more loyal fans who go out of their way. I only partake when you happen to dine in the same facility." Minato nodded as the waitress returned and set down his students meal. "Itadakimasu."

"Is that Hanabi Dango? It's not the season." Kakashi shrugged and continued with his meal it was the waitress who spoke up.

"Shinobi-san is a loyal customer and friends with the owners adopted daughter of sorts." Minato looked from the waitress back to Kakashi who surprisingly wasn't already finished with his meal.

"Is that so?"

"I think you have more pressing matters to deal with than your students social life sensei." With that, Minato watched as his student placed money by his plate and grabbed the last stick. "See you at training tomorrow." The change in who he considered his adopted brother irked Minato, but he did have other pressing matters to attend to. Namely finding a certain elusive Uzumaki to convince her to stop this headache and look at his latest attempt at a seal. As far as Minato was concerned he was confident that it would work, but she had a point when she said that with what he was trying to accomplish it would be safer to have more than one person look at it lest he find himself literally split in two.

* * *

"Oh, look at him!" Kushina cooed as she looked over the month old Uchiha child, "I will never get tired of seeing his smiling face!" The baby in question squealed the moment he saw his red headed Godmother bringing his arms up toward her and away from his mother. "Aww, did Itachi miss his Goddomazā?" Mikoto handed her son over to Kushina before the Uzumaki sat down and began bouncing the month old on her leg. "I know I missed you too!" An image flickered behind her eyes and before she knew what she was doing Kushina poked him lightly on the forehead.

Itachi paused to stare up at her questioningly and Kushina's heart skipped a beat as she remembered where she saw that.

Then he closed his eyes and smiled.

Confident that the young Uchiha would gain her attention if needed Kushina looked over from her Godson and over to her best friend. It was then that she noticed that the Uchiha was holding back her own laughter at the scene and Kushina wasn't too sure why exactly Mikoto would be laughing at her. It must have shown on her face because the slow twitch in Mikoto's lip turned into a full out smile just before she chuckled. "You are a natural with children, Shina." The Uzumaki beamed at the compliment. "Then again if there is anyone who would be a natural with children it would be you."

"Oi! What is that supposed to mean?" The Uzumaki huffed before turning to Itachi, "Did you hear that. I think your Okaasan insulted your Goddomazā." Kushina was well aware that Itachi couldn't possibly understand everything she was saying, even if he was obviously a genius. Still, when the Uchiha baby cocked his head to the side in question she couldn't help herself but to squeal a bit and pinch his cheeks a bit, earning her a squirm from the Uchiha followed by, what she could only describe as, a slight baby-glare as he held his hands up in an attempt to keep her fingers away from him. "You are too cute, ya know!"

"Kushina." Mikoto reprimanded and the Uzumaki huffed and blew out her cheeks.

"I couldn't help it, you have to admit I am doing good."

"It was a pain to make you his Godmother Kushina, but you know the deal." Itachi busied himself with the silverware on the table before him when Kushina spun him around to face his mother to pout.

"I know, I know. If his first word is any version of Da'ttebane, then I lose my Godmother status." She ruffled Itachi's baby hair. "I still think it's a stup- ridiculous though." Mikoto rolled her eyes at Kushina before dotingly looking at her son. "I know Itachi was a bit of a surprise for the both of you, but..." Kushina added quite untactfully, "When are you thinking of baking up another?" Mikoto paused confused at Kushina's use of words then chuckled. That was a very roundabout way of saying it, but then again Kushina was known especially lately for her curious vocabulary.

"You always wanted a large family." Mikoto countered and Kushina flushed, "Fugaku and I have agreed that with Itachi being heir to the clan it would be best to wait until he is independent before having another child."

"What?! That's no fun, 'Tachi is going to be all by his lonesome around the house."

"Well, he wouldn't be if a certain kunoichi I know would reign in her catch and join the fray like she does her battles." That had the Uzumaki turning the same shade of red as her hair and earned da boisterous laugh from the Uchiha. "Honestly Kushina, as much as I _hate_ to be the one to tell you this." Kushina pointedly turned her attention to the baby. "You are in the same boat as Minato." Kushina laughed, "Aside of the fact that ninety-percent of the village is terrified of confronting you nevertheless dating you, your name seems to be on a lot of people's lips these days."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I now? Putting aside the girls who come to me asking how to win your favor, there are or rather have been a couple of guys asking, perhaps not me, but others about you. Such as your relationship status, your likes, dislikes, hobbies." Kushina lifted up her Godson for a hug and glared back at her. "Don't get me started on the fact that everyone thinks that you and Minato are or rather should be a thing," Mikoto watched as Itachi squirmed before being placed back down in her friends lap. "And if not you two there are rumors running around that you and Akihiro have some secret relationship going on." Mikoto couldn't stop herself from chuckling at the look on Kushina's face.

"What?!"

"That's not all." Mikoto straightened her pose and Kushina in response looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. "You have the Clan heads arguing over your future husband." Mikoto continued ignoring the second, more shrilled, 'what' that came from Kushina. "You are extremely important to them. I figure it has to do with the fact that you could very well be the last Uzumaki and with Mito having been the Shodaime's wife..."

"I am not a pawn for them to move as they please." Kushian retorted, "I am my own person and they outta think twice before doing something that they are going to regret."

"Inoichi."

"Huh?"

"Apparently Inori and Asami have toyed the idea of having him court you." Kushina paled as Itachi attempted to place a large spoon in his mouth. "The Yamanaka's has mentioned this in a meeting and their inquiry has placed the idea in the other Clan's heads. Some more than others of course. Needless to say, the Nara's do not seem that interested in the whole ordeal as do the Inuzuka and Aburame."

"Though it would explain why Shikaku spoke to me the other day." Kushina muttered and Mikoto chose to inquire on that at a later time. "When exactly were they going to come to me with all of this hoopla." Mikoto shrugged, "Well that's a load of shi-"

"Kushina."

"Shika's?" Mikoto nodded and Kushina absently rubbed Itachi's baby hair. "I suppose I am in the same boat as Minato here."

"It would seem so, but tell me are you interested in anyone?" The redhead blushed, "So I see. And just when exactly were you going to confront this person, 'Shina?"

"Oh, would you look at the time." Kushina chuckled as she passed a confused Itachi over to his mother. "I have a- a thing, I have to do. A seal that really needs to be finished. It was nice talking to you Mikoto-Nii chan!" And with that Mikoto found herself holding her son as they watched the Uzumaki disappear down the streets.

"Denial. She is in absolute Denial."

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

This was beyond difficult to write out. Between the internet crapping out before I could save and my lack of inspiration toward this story where it stands. (By the Nidaime do I have chapters for the next installation and further on down in this one, though.)

Then by the time I finished it I had to go back and try and make it perty, or rather not as choppy as it originally was.

I want to promise there will be more writing come from me and that should be true in December (work is giving me some time off), but honestly after everything that has happened I find myself needing more time to ... well, find me. This story has helped superbly with that, I already have most of the plot and some chapters for later chapters and even parts of PART 2 planned and/or written out as stated before. But after that incident I mentioned earlier, I have had a lot of time to sit down and question a lot of things... and I sadly am not the same person I was when I fist started this~ so it's hard to continue here when I feel more like I am living PART 2.

Also, I know that I have given no original timeline as for the Canon Universe and there is very little offered. I wanted to explain that Melody's presence has taken a larger toll than what one may have imagined, or rather than what I have shown thus far. I promise these changes will become more apparent, especially in part II.

But that is beside the point. It took me forever, but I hit 10K like I wanted to for this chapter. And hopefully, I should be back on schedule with updates. So you can expect another chapter anywhere from Wed Evening to Saturday!

If you see any mistakes I apologize, I will be going back to edit this throuhout the day!

* * *

*Deru kui wa utareru.

Translation: The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.

出る釘は打たれる。Deru kugi wa utareru

Note: While kui (stake) is sometimes used in place of kugi (nail) some purists point to the incongruity of using "kui" since, in traditional Japanese post and beam house construction, it is physically impossible to hammer a stake flush with the wood, and a stake in the ground would have no structural function.

"Standing out goes hand in hand with criticism."

English equivalent: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

** 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。 _Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu._

Translation: If you do not enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its cub. English equivalent: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Chinese equivalent: 不入虎穴，焉得虎子。 "Nothing can be achieved without effort, suffering or hardship."


	20. Chapter 19

"So Chunnin now, huh?" It had been months since their original reintroduction of sorts. She had been out of T&I for a month but had completely avoided any and everyone she knew before the incident for the simple reason that dead people should stay dead. She had been prosecuted and killed two months ago as far as anyone outside of Inori, Kakashi and the Hokage were aware. It made her job a little more difficult in the sense that outside of her being in uniform she found herself staying at home or staying outside of the village until given another mission.

It made things easier for everyone, Kushina aside Kurama enjoyed reminding her about how the Uzumaki to this day refused to believe that she had just disappeared after the trial and apparent death. It was a taunting of sorts and a way he could get under her skin, Melody was well aware of that. Had the Hatake not happened to malinger into the Hokage's office while she was on guard duty for him, then he wouldn't have known any better either. Unfortunately, it appeared that the Hatake's sense of smell had gotten quite better recent years.

"Jonin now as I am sure you are well aware." He took a sip of his tea and she rolled her eyes snatching the bag from him and snagging a couple of sticks of Dango from it. She tried to keep herself from reacting to the new piece of information, but from the look in his eye, she knew that he had caught it. "Or not. Upset that you were not there for this one as well."

"Something like that," She grumbled, "How's the team?" Whether he was aware of it or not Kakashi was her only link to the outside world. Or rather the only link that Hiruzen allowed her to have because she refused to believe that he didn't plan that 'accidental' encounter all those months ago. She popped the first roll into her mouth and glanced over at the teen who was staring blatantly at her. "I have a genuine idea, but frankly, believe it or not, I am kept busy on missions and unable to go out and socialize like I once had." She crossed her arms, "I am not even allowed to bother Shishou."The two kept up the game of dominance for a minute before Kakashi finally spoke.

"Obito is still an idiot. Rin is still trying to get my attention, albeit she is getting better and Minato and Kushina are still dancing around one another instead of admitting that they were meant for each other." Melody paused and mentally thought back to the Kakashi she was supposed to be dealing with, the Kakashi of her memories.

 **"You are taking this rather poorly compared to when you realized that perhaps you may have stopped Naruto's birth."** The brunette popped the second roll into her mouth.

 _"More of a bigger picture sort of thinker, if you haven't noticed. Details often catch me off guard."_ She threw back at the Fox before finally looking away from Kakashi and letting out a sigh. "I am...surprised." When he didn't respond and instead merely looked at the bag she had stolen the brunette threw the object at him and elaborated. "Forgive me for possibly underestimated you, but you simply surprise me." That seemed to get the Hatake's attention, he paused from his drink and arched a brow. "Why are you here?" She flattened her expression and crossed her legs under the table, "I can see it in your eyes, you know. You don't want to be here. You loathe everything about me. You don't look at me outside of scorn." She saw him visibly tense, "So I ask again, why are you here? What is going on in that mind of yours Kakashi?"

It didn't surprise her when he got up and left. The brunette merely fell back into her seat and leaned back on it, using her toes to keep her from falling over. That was the most likely of outcomes by speaking her mind, but she needed to know. It was bothering her and she knew it was bothering Kakashi. The two of them were playing an awkward game of Chicken and it didn't seem like either of them had any intention of explaining themselves to the other, not like she could of course. She had contemplated bringing Kakashi into the circle, but she had thought better of it every time.

"Argh!" The brunette got up off her seat and snatched up another stick as she threw and embedded it into the wall. All of this was just irritating to her "I need another mission." She grumbled as she fell onto the couch debating on if she should leave and ask even after the Third had specifically ordered her to take a couple days of leave.

It was her second day and she was losing her mind.

 **"You are exceptionally adept at scaring away those you hold dear, whether it be here or there."** The brunette rolled her eyes as she rocked back and forth. **"An explanation of your reasoning is the purpose of my** **inquiry."** Kurama added after a couple seconds of a pregnant silence.

 _"You should be well aware as to why I did what I did. I am a rather easy book to read contrary to common belief."_ She could practically hear him roll his eyes at her, _"Are the Gaki and Blondaime seriously not a couple yet?" When she got a grunt in response she continued, "She is running out of time, surely she is aware of it."_

 **"She is under the impression that she isn't the woman to mate with him."** The brunette wanted to groan, **"I believe she takes after you in that aspect, wouldn't you agree."**

" _What are you getting at Kurama?"_ She wasn't given an answer instead she was privileged to hear him laugh in the back of her mind, _"You are an ass, Kurama. An old ass, but an ass none the less."_ When it became apparent that the Fox was not going to speak further with her the brunette rolled onto her stomach and her mind wandered to her last meeting with the Hokage.

* * *

"The mission was a success, Hokage-sama." The elder looked up from his paperwork and Melody couldn't help but feel slightly bad for him. Her mind going back to days where she had to fill out documents to go on vacation, documents to go to training events, documents to get deployed. It was safe to say that Melody held a bit of disdain for anything that had to deal with paperwork, so much to the point where she simply stopped going on vacation until they forced her to. She had no intention of becoming an officer because their lives seemingly revolved around paperwork of various degrees. Melody could only imagine what kind of nonsense the Hokage had to deal with, he had a bloody village to run.

"You are unharmed."

"Hai."

"I shall send for Yamanaka-san."

"Hokage-sama?" She watched or rather felt as the Anbu guard left his post to fetch the blond in question. The elder merely went back to the mounds of paperwork on his desk. _Well, this is awkward._ Melody thought to herself as she stood in front of his desk, not knowing what to do with herself she fell into the position of At-Ease by placing her arms behind her back and clasping them. Yes, even after all these years she still felt extremely comfortable and safe in this position. She watched as he went through various scrolls, _likely missions completed throughout the day._ She thought to herself with a small smile wondering if perhaps any of those had been completed by people she knew.

"Hokage-sama?" The Yamanaka in question appeared in a pop of smoke, the two of them shared a glance. It was only when he sent the Hokage a questioning glance did it dawn on her that he hadn't ever seen her in uniform, not that it was ever a problem she preferred it that way. "Is something wrong?" The elder didn't pause in his work, Melody frowned knowing full well that it could be made out. Her mask only covered the top portion of her face occasionally for missions, such as the one she just returned from, she would wear a mask over her mouth... so the sudden attention from the Anbu guard didn't surprise her.

"Now." The Elder spoke as he placed a final scroll to one side of the desk, what she figured his outgoing box so to speak. "The reason I have brought you two in here is a simple one." He pulled out his pipe and whisked the Guard away. "It is a matter of importance to not only the village but the both of you." She could feel Inori glance over at her.

"Hokage-sama?" The elder looked over to her and her frown deepened only when he nodded did she bring her hand up and take off her mask. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Now, back to the matters at hand. It has come to my attention that many Clan Heads wish to offer prospects to Kushina Uzumaki." Melody couldn't help herself she blanched, "The first of which happens to be Inori."

"Please note Emi this was being thought of well before your return to the village and my knowledge of your..." He paused, "Complex situation." Melody laughed and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it Yamanaka-san. You have your duties as Clan Head and honestly, there was no way you could have possibly guessed the complexity of her situation."

"While I would prefer to maintain a distance from what you do know. Considering Kushina's situation and status in the village is there any guidance you would give on this topic."

"Don't marry her off." The Elder smiled and Inori frowned, "First of all the last thing you want to do is give someone of her, status, a reason to dislike the village. Take in mind her personality and her Clan's background. She will make it to where you will rue the day you forced her into something like this, plus..." She locked eyes with Hiruzen, "we both know that she has been courting someone for the last couple years." She crossed her arms, "Tell me Hokage-sama. Do you have any possible prospects for your position, yet?"

"I have a few."

"Kushina loves the village, in her own weird way. If there is anyone you are going to tie her down with I would highly recommend it being the next Hokage." She nodded to herself. "That is the best option you have and I would recommend holding off these prospects until later." She kept her gaze on the elder until he nodded his dismissal and with that she turned toward Inori and smiled letting him know that, as far as she was concerned, they were cool before disappearing.

* * *

 **"And you thought I was exaggerating."** Melody was mentally losing her shit as the blond walked her toward the tea shop, he looked so done with this _date_ even if he was trying to be polite about it. She hadn't heard where he said they were going to go for this _date_ , instead her mind wandered over toward the trials she had been given by the two Uchiha and the Uzumaki herself. Kushina had originally been out on some mission when Melody had hatched this idea in her head after she had finished speaking with Jiraiya about the Seal Minato had been working on. She had to admit she was impressed and while she had no idea what exactly he did to make it work in her memories it seemed to be going in that direction.

At least in theory.

Mikoto had set her aside with her husband for some a small lunch get together. She wasn't surprised to see that Fugaku hadn't been too interested in the whole ordeal. Melody had figured he was more of the sit in the background and come-up-with-his-own-opinions-then-spoke-with-his-wife-after sort of guy. What did catch her attention was the tenseness he held around her, she hadn't made any mention of it when she was with them and instead kept her immediate attention on Mikoto after ensuring her seals suppressors were still working, of course.

She had come to them as a Careerist Chunnin, a kunoichi who had no intention of pushing herself higher up within the ranks and instead specialize in her own training and aiding in the defense of the village if and when needed. She graduated the same boring age as most during times of war and was promoted in the field to Chunnin after a messenger mission turned defensive siege at one of the of outer border posts.

She openly shared whatever information Mikoto inquired about whether directly or indirectly. It was a rather pleasant experience, much better in comparison as to how she felt when she found herself staring into suspicious violet eyes a week later. Kushina was still very much Kushina, the girl Melody remembered...some of her were Kushina, the woman she idolized and then there were new aspects to Kushina. Melody didn't have too much time, or rather any, to ask Kushina about herself and understand why the teen was doing what she was doing. At the same time, Melody didn't have to, knowing what she did about Kushina along with what she learned when she was being questioned told Melody all she needed to know.

Kurama had nailed it on the head.

She had seen plenty of cases of denial in her time before this and even in a few instances during her missions here. Though Melody was almost positively sure she had never seen a case as severe as Kushina. She had to stop herself a couple of times from bringing her hand up to ruffle the redhead's hair and chuckle at her. She wasn't Emi at the moment, the friend Kushina now believed to be long gone. Instead, she was Holo in both name and appearance, ears and tail aside of course. Kushina didn't seem to care for her blunt comments or witty banter too much. Melody remembered being bombarded with questions about what she would do under various circumstances. Typically placing her own well-being and either the Villages or her comrades welfare against one another.

Melody had to hold back her smirk when she quoted her nindo to Kushina, a nindo she hadn't ever put in words but always put in action. Words she had lived by since she had seen the 1982 Star Trek Film.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." When Kushina didn't make a move to answer she finished, "...or one."

And that apparently had been a key factor in deciding that she would be seeing Minato. Remember she had a spy on her side, a certain orangish-red furred spy who claimed his fur would make the finest of scarfs...but would never willingly give away his 'prized' fur.

 _"How long did you say that this has been going on?"_

 **"Long enough for even the stupid traitor to notice."**

 _"That's rather rude. Don't judge him for things that have yet to pass."_

 **"Have you done anything to ensure that doesn't pass?"** Melody bit her tongue as Minato and she took their seats. **"Exactly, we need to decide if we are going to let that series of events continue and if so what we are going to do after."**

 _"It's a work in progress."_

* * *

Minato racked his mind trying to figure out if perhaps he had seen the orange haired kunoichi in passing, there was something uncannily familiar about her though he couldn't quite place his finger on what at the moment. What had caught his attention immediately about her were those eyes, they were not nearly as vibrantly red as the Sharingan, but he couldn't recall coming across anyone with any shade of red colored eyes. On top of that, he almost felt threatened every time he met her gaze. There was something primal about it and he wasn't too sure if he would ever get used to that.

It was intriguing if nothing else.

"I haven't seen you around the village." She made to speak but paused when their waitress walked up. Minato was amused at the expression his current companion gave their young brunette hostess. Minato watched as his companion leaned back, crossed her arms and arched a brow after assessing the young adult.

"I will have a glass of water." Green eyes fell onto him and it was then that he realized that he knew this waitress. It was no one other than Nara, Aimi... Shikaku's cousin he had been actively trying not to run into since Shikaku had first mentioned her interest in him.

"Green tea." He didn't miss the way Aimi's eyes lingered on his date or how she tensed when those red eyes narrowed at her.

"Right Away."Minato watched as his current _date_ watched as the waitress scurried off.

"I have no idea how you deal with that." He frowned and she spoke before he could ask, "The female's, the random blind dates, I mean your fanbase was quite ridiculous before but it really seems like it has gotten quite out of hand." His frown deepened and in response, she spoke. "Hello. My name is Holo... just Holo. No surname, yadda yadda. I am not here interested in courting you, rather I am more interested in making friends."

"Making friends?" She seemed extremely nonchalant about all of it, waving her hand dismissively and lounging back in her chair. "You go on dates with random strangers to make friends?"

"What can I say, I like I challenge." He wasn't buying it, there was no way that someone went through what other girls complained endlessly about to simply become friends with him. Him, the poor bastard who found himself with women thrown at him by his best friend, his wife and the only woman in the world he had any interest in. "I don't quite believe you." She arched a brow herself, "While I am unaware of what one must go through to end up sitting where you are sitting at this moment, I have heard plenty complaints about it." The waitress returned with their drinks and before she could speak Holo shooed her off with her hand. "What is your motive?"

"To figure out what her motive is."

"What?" Instead of answering immediately Holo brought her cup to her lips and drank down half of the contents of her cup.

"I am simply wondering what the hell got in Kushina's pants to get her to throw women at your feet. When she knows damn well that she has had her eyes on you for years and you have always been obviously in love with her." Minato bit the inside of his lip wondering just who exactly this Holo was. "Frankly, when I first heard about it I didn't believe it. Noted I was out on a mission and completely out of the loop for quite a bit of time. I may not have known either of you before this," She motioned with her arm at their _date_ , "But honestly you two were on everyone's lips **all** the time. Are they together? Are they not together? Did they get married? Is it official? Minato-kun should date me~ no he should date me~. Uzumaki-Chan is terrifying. Uzumaki-hime is exotic." Her face fell flat as she continued to speak and seemingly urged him, with her expression, to try and argue otherwise. "So when I got back and heard about _this."_ She chuckled, "I absolutely had to get involved and witness it first hand."

"So you have absolutely no intention of pursuing a relationship with me."

"Nope." He paused and simply looked at the girl who had to be about his age if not maybe a year or two older.

"Making a scene after I turn you down?"

"I mean, I _can_ if you are trying to maintain an image..." This time, she paused and brought her finger up to her lip, "Could possibly create a scene that could rival something in your sensei's novels."

"You read those?!"

"I will not claim they are the best, but they are interesting without a doubt." She nodded to herself and then he was under her gaze once more, "My only ulterior motive would be my interest in meeting your sensei. But I had only just thought this up at this moment." Suddenly, she brought her hand up over the table and out toward him. While her sights still put him on edge, it shifted. It was softer and more opening than they had been prior to this moment. "My names Holo, no surname. I plan on making on up eventually. I like sleeping in the sun and investigating anything curious that catches my fancy. I dislike a lot of things, I suppose pretentiousness would be the big one. That and snow. Seriously that stuff is pure evil. Second only to ice."

"Your dream?"

"I have a few of them." Minato held her gaze and she deflated, "I suppose I could tell you one..." She took another big gulp of water. "I'd like to fight on the front lines..." That had most definitely not been what he had expected her to say.

"Really?"

"Sure," She shrugged, "We are at war. Are we not? As soon as I finish my training here shortly I intend to live on the front lines..." She paused and her sights shifted off of him and toward something behind him as she finished,"...if they will let me."

"Live on the front lines?" When she didn't reply right away he turned to see what exactly it was that captivated her attention. There was another table behind them that was a bit loud, it sounded like there should have been a full table and from the looks of it, that table could have held up to ten people. Though he only saw three, the legendary Shika-Ino-Cho parents waving back at him. Minato offered a slight wave back and returned his attention back to Holo.

"Hmmm? Did you say something?"

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Late, late I know I am late. I am not even gonna bother trying to explain myself this time. Outside of life being a pain and karma, a thorn in my side. . .

Here is another chapter! I have the next one-half finished and saying technology doesn't try to throw another hurdle in my way, I should be good.  
On top of that, I still have to go back and edit these last couple chapters. Yay!


	21. Chapter 20

She was depressed, there was no way around it Kushina watched as Minato and his new girlfriend passed down the crowded streets of their village having run into an alley the moment she had spotted them. As far as he was concerned her reaction was warranted, ever since the two of them had been set up Kushina had done everything in her power to ensure that she wasn't in the same general vicinity as the two of them. Now, that was not to say that she stopped talking with Minato completely. In actuality, she still met up with him two to three times a week, sometimes with his Sensei, so that they could work on their seals and continue to teach one another what they knew. Then there was Holo, Kushina couldn't avoid her even if she had wanted to. The Orange-haired woman worked in the mission room and, therefore, she was a constant in her life. Plus, Kushina couldn't lie - she rather enjoyed her company. The Chūnin wasn't like anyone she had run into, she was blunt with her words and there seemed to always be a witty retort ready for her to give.

It was extremely refreshing and nice change in these trying times.

What it all came down to was the fact that Kushina simply didn't know what to do and while it made quite a comedic spectacle for Kurama... or anyone who had noticed her awkward behavior when she noticed the couple -Shikaku- it drove Kushina up the wall with anxiety. Every time, this time, included, her heart would throb and she couldn't pinpoint the feeling that came with it.

Looking at them now Kushina could easily see how the two of them looked at one another. It was everything Kushina could have ever hoped for.

As they passed Kushina stepped out of the alley and her eyes focused on their laced hands. Minato was talking animatedly with the pale-orange haired Chūnin and she seemed more than interested in the conversation they entered the very place she was en-route to. A piece of her heart was beating erratically, ecstatic that she had done it. That she had found Holo and found the person that almost matched the images of the Kushina Uzumaki Melody had adored. Looking at her now Kushina couldn't help but smile, Holo was wearing a simple light tan tunic that fell down a little bit past her rear and under that she wore brown shorts that hovered over her ankles and even the top of her ninja shoes showing a modest amount of skin. Her hair fell straight down her back all the way to her waist.

Speaking of the Chūnin in question, Kushina knew that Holo had seen her. Their eyes had met before the couple had passed and Kushina had seen them brighten, twinkle even.

While she hadn't known Holo before the whole ordeal they had spoken a lot actually since Holo started dating Minato a month ago. Kushina had to admit, based on prior results and how different Holo was compared to everyone else she wasn't sure if Minato was going to bite. After their initial introduction date, he hadn't spoken about it to Fugaku, Inori or Shikaku. Then Holo had been sent out on a mission the following week, she was gone two days and the next thing Kushina knew Minato was at her door pulling his hair out and explaining the whole situation to her.

Being an orphan himself he hadn't the vaguest idea as to how to continue to see Holo and the closest thing he had to a father figure was his Sensei. Said Sensei who too apparently had no idea how to court a woman, Minato hadn't gotten into the details, but the fact that even _he_ thought what Jiraiya had offered wasn't to be followed meant something. Holo returned from her mission and seemed surprised, for Holo, to see Minato at her doorstep the following morning.

She wasn't stalking him, no not at all. She was just ensuring the idiot didn't screw anything up.

Honestly.

Offering advice to Minato was confusing and if nothing else it proved to Kushina just how little she knew about Holo. That had been what pissed her off at the end of the day, or at least, that is what she told herself. Because there was no way in hell that she was bothered that she was offering Minato advice on how to court and win a girl over, nope.

No way.

Definitely not.

* * *

 _ **"So what is your plan?"** _ Melody was lying on the ground of her single room apartment with her heels flat on one of the walls as she bounced a ball on said wall. She had been there since her last date with Minato contemplating on if she should have forced Kushina with them to the Ramen Shop. _I have to give her kudos she is quick on her feet when it comes to getting out of eyesight. Had I not been searching for those beautiful waves of red, I would have missed her._ The pseudo-Chūnin thought to herself completely ignoring the demon in her mind. _**"We are running out of time Vixen, this is no time to be lounging about."**_ Rolling her eyes, Melody threw the ball up to the wall and caught it by stretching her arm out without a second thought. _"That is my current predicament, you giant ball of fur."_ She mentally groaned. _"If I go and stop that then there will be absolutely nothing that I can guarantee." _She threw the ball a bit harder, _"And sadly if we want to prevent you from being shoved into a newborn child." **"That may not be born."**_ _"Shush. A newborn child and stop the massacre that your unsealing and subsequent resealing will cause. I will have to let that happen." _

"YOU!" Melody lazily looked 'up' at her intruder, not bothering to move from her position on the ground.

"Me?"

"I knew I recognized that scent. **Your** scent." Melody flickered her eyes twice and maintained the neutral expression on her features.

"Well I mean, it's not like I was purposefully hiding it." The orange-haired henged Kunoichi offered to try to draw out the conversation and piece together just _what_ the hell was going on. Tsume wasn't exactly someone she had hunted down or bothered hanging out with, sure she had played with the soon-to-be head of Clan when she was a kid after returning from her training with Tsunade...sue her, Melody had a soft spot for dogs... but she hadn't thought that the few weeks she had played with the young, rambunctious Inuzuka had meant anything to the girl.

"Where have you been?"

"You are tall." Tsume apparently fed up with her shit-stormed into her studio and picked Melody up by the collar of her clothes. A feat that didn't surprise Melody since she was only about five feet three inches what had surprised her was how much taller Tsume was in comparison. She couldn't remember, especially as something as menial as character heights, but Melody was positive that Tsume was not taller than her when she was a soldier. Actually, she could name maybe five or six characters who would have been, note Tsume wasn't exactly someone she did extensive research on but Kiba - her son- definitely not her height. None of the rookie nine were except for the bug-user who looked extremely awkward when laughing. A scene she wasn't too sure if was fan-made or not.

Tsume, right here and now was most definitely taller than Melody had been before this she-bang.

It was downright terrifying.

"Holo."

"Maah, maah. Look at my neck you Amazon for a woman." The next thing Melody knew her ass hit the ground and her tailbone was expressing its dislike for the drop by shooting pain up her back. "For the love of the Nine, woman is this how you treat your friends?"

"Those who go missing then start dating the villages most wanted bachelor, yes." Melody rolled her eyes and stood up rubbing her ass and glaring at the Inuzuka all the while.

"That is not why you are here."

"That is exactly why I am here." Tsume spat back instantly as she crossed her arms and looked down at the orange-haired Chūnin.

"You are such a child. Voluptuous body aside." Melody crossed her arms as well as her features flattened but she rose a single brow.

"Like what you see?"

"And if I say that I do?"

"Liar."

"A girl can appreciate." This time, orange brows waggled and Tsume was the one to roll her eyes.

"You are _still_ a tease."

"I was a child the last time I knew you, I was anything but a tease." When Tsume didn't respond Melody deflated, "You figured out what those things meant didn't you?"

"We Inuzuka's don't keep many secrets from one another, hard to do with the nose and Nin-kin," Tsume replied with a smirk as she tapped her nose, "You were quite the raunchy child. I am almost afraid to ask how you knew anything you were speaking about."

"I read a lot." Melody offered with a shrug and she smirked when Tsume raised a brow. "Now," Melody uncrossed her arms and slowly circled around her 'childhood' friend. Had she been taller she would have thrown her arms around Tsume and rested her chin on the Inuzuka's shoulder... sadly being a good half a foot shorter than Tsume wouldn't allow that. So instead, she circled around completely and rested her hand on the Inuzuka's painted, marked -she would have to ask about that- cheek and rubbed her thumb across it. "I'd lose my allure if I told everyone _all_ of my _interesting_ secrets."

Tsume thought something over for a moment before she opened her mouth. "You are a seduction Kunoichi."

"Ouch, tell me how you really feel." Melody reeled back and snatched her hand back as quickly as a child would after they placed their hands over an open flame. "That was years ago, but yes. I have done my fair share of those missions."

"And what are you doing now?" Melody couldn't help but feel like Tsume was interrogating her and after everything she had been through she was not really in the mood to deal with any more than that. Sadly she had chosen a prior form she had used before and scent, not that she could change that one too much just enough to not intentionally catch attention. If you were looking, though, one could easily find that the different scents she did use were all similar.

"If you would fill out your mission reports and turn them in you would know that I work at the missions desk." That earned a Melody a whimsical smirk from the tanned Kunoichi. "Uh-huh. You thought you were sneaky." Melody motioned for Tsume to sit down on the couch, "Please sit. We have to catch up,"

"She says as she leaves the room."

"Look, you exact opposite of a prune. I will have you know I am blessing you with a glass of water made by yours truly." She motioned towards herself and a small curtsy, it had to have looked completely ridiculous. "Now shut up and play domesticated you bitch." Melody was rewarded by boisterous laughter from her guest as she fetched some drinks.

* * *

Kakashi glared over at his self-proclaimed rival and couldn't help but wonder how in the name of the Sandaime that he got stuck with someone like _him_ following him around.

Kakashi was pretty sure that after their first encounter back at the academy the spandex-clad kid would have left him be and that seemed to have been the case… He hadn't seen hide or hair of the talent-less sad excuse for a Shinobi for years since that encounter. He had honestly been forgotten to Kakashi, then the Chūnin Exams happened and Kakashi was sure he would not make it through. Then he did and on top of all of that Kakashi found himself paired off to fight _him_ of all people during his final round. Then Kakashi had made the mistake, a mistake he would forever blame Emi for, by holding out a hand and praising the Taijutsu-specialist.

Looking back on it now, Kakashi was positive that it was _there_ where he messed up.

Now that he was looking back at that particular incident and the months that followed Kakashi had to admit the signs were there. Sadly, he had other things on his mind instead of why a certain green-spandex-clad Shinobi happened to always be at their training grounds. Then there were the times where he would go out to eat with Kushina and he scanned the room, pointedly ignoring anything that reminded him of that particular Shinobi. Kakashi casually glanced over at the Chūnin as he continued to speak about whatever-the-hell he was talking about animatedly. _I am sure that he is laughing it up in the grave._ Kakashi mournfully thought to himself as he tuned back into whatever Gai was saying. "-define the terms of the challenge." The Hatake continued walking half-heartily trying to lose the visual _loud_ looking Chūnin~ whether that be by losing Gai completely or his interest, Kakashi cared not.

Then as if the God's were looking down on him, Kakashi spotted hope in the form of his Sensei and Kushina as they were making their way towards him. Initially, he locked eyes with Kushina when she glanced away from his Sensei, but Kakashi knew the moment her violet eyes scanned him and then Gai before twinkling and a grin slowly spread across her features that any chances of rescue by her were for naught.

She did train with his self-proclaimed rivals father and had mentioned this, a friendship with someone his age, being good for him in the past.

Mentally huffing his eyes then shifted to his Sensei and it was then that he spotted the short woman with the two of them who seemed to have said Sensei's attention. He cursed her for distracting what could be his only means of escape but took the time to look at the woman. What first caught his attention was the odd shade of her hair, followed by the pure length of it. Not that he wasn't used to that, he was close with Kushina who had ridiculously and impractically long hair as well...noted she had truly begun to grow it out these last few years. For reasons, she had yet to share with him. His ear twitched and he instinctively tensed when he felt as if he was being watched, his eyes went from the woman's hair to her eyes and Kakashi mentally took pause.

Ruby eyes bore back at him, her gaze was... intense for lack of better word and while her sights were solely focused on him her mouth kept moving, continuing on the conversation she was holding with the two other Jōnin. As Kushina's eyes had earlier, the pair of Rubies shifted from him and over to where Gai was walking next to him then returned back to him. There was a split moment where he felt as if it were just the two of them in the world staring at one another from a vast distance, then her eyes twinkled with what he could only describe as pure amusement. Slightly off-put by the woman, who couldn't be more than a Chūnin- if that, Kakashi frowned under his mask. Then with the furthest eye from his Sensei, her right...

She winked at him.

She winked at him and he felt as if he was missing the other half of some joke. He felt as if he were hit with a wave of cold water as the three of them walked into the Ramen shop and Gai's voice -of all things- knocked him back into reality.

"I have decided! We shall run around the village three times then spar with a spoon in our mouths holding a single egg. If you drop the egg you must restart the whole challenge." Kakashi mentally toyed with the idea of asking the Chūnin where he came up with these 'trials' or 'challenges' but decided that he didn't want to know before nodding and they turned to head toward Training Ground Three, which had always ended up being the starting point for most of their challenges.

* * *

" _So how are things?" Holo looked up from her spot behind the Missions Desk and smiled when she saw the Uzumaki._

" _Kushina! Thank you so much!" She stood up and hugged the redhead with all her might, glad to simply be as close to her other half as she could. "I wasn't expecting for anything to come out of that date! Honestly and I would have never thought about taking it seriously had you not talked to me." She couldn't see the confusion that the redhead expressed while they hugged and it was gone when they separated._

" _ **I hope you know what you are doing,"**_ _Kurama spoke from the depths of both of their minds. Holo internally rolled her eyes unaware that the message had been directed toward the both of them for the same exact reason._

 _Simultaneously, Kushina grumbled a curt 'shut up' to her guest._

" _I am so happy for the both of you," Kushina replied with as genuine a smile as she could muster, not wanting the Chūnin to know just how awkward the whole ordeal was for her. Holo brightened at the attempt but was well aware that the smile wasn't genuine in the least~ try as Kushina might there was no fooling Holo, not when the orange-haired_ _Chūnin happened to be the only person in the world who knew Kushina more so than Kushina knew herself._

 _She was betting on it, in fact._

" _You were right, he can be such an idiot sometimes." Holo laughed, but Kushina saw her red eyes sharpen, "I had to hit him upside the head." The Chūnin added then dug into her weapons pouch and pulled out a slip of paper before handing it over to the Uzumaki. "I don't know anything about Seals, but my gut was telling me that there was something wrong with this." Kushina reflexively looked over the design as soon as it was in her hand and dissected it for a good solid minute. The design was looking much more promising than the last one Minato had offered to her a couple weeks ago. Honestly, she would have to sit down and praise the blond for his work. As Kushina was going over the design Holo was mentally ripping her hair out wondering if this was too bold of a step for he to do. There was no way in hell that someone without Seals training would be able to see that the piece of the seal that would instantly shift him to every other seal with the same design if used as is. Since she had already opened her mouth though Holo merely maintained the confused but irate expression she held whens he handed the seal over and watched as Kushina slowly looked back up to Holo. When Kushina didn't respond right away the henged Yin-half widened her eyes. "Well say something. Am I just overreacting?" Kushina didn't speak for another couple seconds and Holo brought her lips together for a small frown before speaking. "I am aren't I. Man, I wish I understood that stuff. Then I could be of some help."_

" _Why do you think something is wrong?" Kushina's question was simple and Holo felt the hairs on her arms stand on end as her seals repressed the slight flux in chakra._

" _I don't know. That looks like a load of crap to my eyes." Holo lied easily as she crossed her arms defensively. "The fact that of the matter is that all of them looked the same, I have no idea what it is supposed to do." She snagged the paper away and moved it around as she looked at it. "I mean, I was sitting here thinking about it all this time when something he mentioned under his breath came back to me-" She then paused and brought her brows together, "Speaking of which, are you two fighting?" That derailment caught the Uzumaki completely off guard and her eyes widened as she sputtered out a response as she snagged the Seal back- nearly ripping it in the process._

" _W-what?! No, of course not. We are best friends, ya know!" Holo chuckled at the remark and her hands twitched to ruffle the Uzumaki's hair._

" _That is as adorable as he says it is." Holo smiled before she shook her head and narrowed her eyes, more than willing to take this distraction that had presented itself. "He is worried about you. Wondering if he did something wrong, I keep telling the idiot to just come up and talk to you but then he goes and says 'that I just wouldn't understand' and 'That's not how you deal with Kushina.' Or something like that." She rolled her eyes, "Look. I am going to invite him out to Ichiraku's tonight… can you be there? Can we all meet and hang out? I would really like for you guys to still be friends." Kushina paused for a moment and seemed to think it over before she spoke again. "I would actually like all three of us to be-"_

 _"What made you think we were not friends?" Holo easily caught he hurt that her other half was trying to hide in her words, but chose to ignore it and answer the question as someone who didn't know the Uzumaki's wood-work._

 _"He always talks about how much fun you guys used to have," She admitted looking down from Kushina's curious albeit sad glance and down at her feet. "Honestly, I thought you had died." Kushina arched a brow and bit the inside of her lip, unknowingly at the same time that Holo had when she took pause. "You had been out on a mission when I realized the tense he was using." Holo lied building the story from multiple conversations she had shared with the future Hokage, "I checked the records for missions and found that yours hadn't been returned, but it hadn't been moved to the unsuccessful pile either. The next day you walked in and turned in your mission." Holo laughed awkwardly to herself and Kushina joined, "It was all really confusing and I didn't want to seem unsympathetic by asking if you had passed." At Kushina's curious glance Holo elaborated, "I feel as if that should be something I am aware of." Kushina quirked her head to the side._

 _"And why is that?"_

 _"Because you are my friend, of course."_

* * *

And that was how Uzumaki Kushina found herself sitting between the couple at Ichiraku's. Holo was poking at her Miso Ramen and Minato his chicken, it was obvious even to Kushina about how awkward this whole thing was...albeit Holo didn't seem to give a rat's ass and was the only one who seemed natural in this scene. She had been the one to converse with Teuchi as he was making their meals while both she and Minato remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, at most giving single worded answers to everything they had asked them.

"Ah!" Said Chūnin voiced, "You never did answer my question, Kushina." The Uzumaki looked over at the Chūnin, aware that her outburst gained even Minato's attention on her left. "That seal. I don't understand any of that, but it seemed like perhaps me snagging that from him before he tried testing it was a good move." It took a moment but eventually everything Holo said finally processed through her mind.

"You were going to use this?!" Kushina spun around and roared as she pulled the seal from her pocket. "Are you **_trying_ ** to kill yourself?!" Minato reeled back momentary struck in a state of déjà vu as he looked into a pair of knowing red orbs and a threatening pair of violet. "Hmm?!"

"I was looking for that." He frowned regaining his voice and bearing as he spoke to Holo, before turning to speak with Kushina. "I went over it three times, the only thing left to do is test it." She could not believe what she was hearing, there was no way in hell that something like this should be tested. It would _instantly_ kill him and wipe his existence from the world. He was too important, whether or not that be to the village didn't quite matter at that moment. All Kushina could think about was the feelings that were embedded into the memories that Kurama had shared with her. Whiles he still didn't know what happened to him, Kushina knew that something happened by the underlying sadness that seemingly held the memories together. He was too important to her and she would be damned if she lost her best friend over something as stupid as a Seal. Over something that she should be able to prevent.

She was supposed to train mini-Minato Jr's dammit and spoil them to where they drove him up the wall and adored her. That was going to prove to be impossible to do without him being here and having the damn brats. "What did both Jiraiya and I tell you, idiot? **Before** you go testing this particular seal have either him or I look at it."

"Jiraiya did look it over." Minato defended, but before she could dig further into that Holo's scoff gained Kushina's immediate attention. The Chūnin reached back into her weapons pouch and pulled out a red book, shifted through a few pages then handed it to Kushina.

At first, Kushina was in denial about what she was looking at, but after flipping two pages and comparing them to those in the room. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that inside the book were sketches of Minato, Holo and herself. Her eye twitched and when Minato attempted to glance over her shoulder the redhead spun to where the cover was to him as she flipped through the pages. They were innocent at first, a couple of full body sketches, a few poses, a couple of profile shots. It all seemed innocent as she flicked through five pages, but it became apparent where this was going as he went through the next five pages and the clothing became less and less while her anger rose more and more and her eye twitched.

" _ **That** _ was what his Sensei was working on as he looked over the seal." Holo reached over Kushina and snagged the book as she was greeted with what was undoubtedly a page, plot, and sketches for his next book. "I do believe it is safe to say that the Sannin's head was in a completely different realm from Minato's." Kushina was trying her damnedest to control the blood rushing to her cheeks.

 _ **"Did you finally find something you enjoy?"**_ She really did **not** want to deal with Kurama at the moment.

 _"Shut it fur-ball!"_

 ** _"Touchy, touchy. I didn't take you for a mate who shared."_**

"Kushina?" The blond in question asked cautiously when the redhead hadn't moved after a full minute of silence. Drawing her attention from the cackling Tailed-Beast and back to the couple, she was eating out with. When she came to she found Minato looking at her worriedly and she was biting the inside of her cheek so hard she could taste the blood on her pallet.

"W-What are you even doing with that book?!" Kushina demanded from the Chūnin who in response quirked her head to the side and knitted her brows together. Kushina could feel Minato's worried gaze turn off of her and she could only imagine that he too was interested and as curious as she was.

Saying he had even seen the book, which she doubted.

"Ensuring it doesn't get published, of course." Kushina paused horrified at the implications of that statement, "I didn't think either of you would have appreciated that." Holo admitted though she didn't look the least bit apologetic about having the item. Honestly, though, Kushina wasn't too sure if she would have rather had anyone else have access to that book. Then her mind wandered to _how_ exactly a Chūnin like Holo would have been able to get such an item from the author who hoarded his work until the final product was made. "I only had to drink him under the table for it." Holo seemed to have been able to read Kushina's head though the answer she had offered did not set her mind at ease and from Minato's choking sounds behind her, it bothered him as well.

"You drank Sensei under the table?!" The red-eyed Chūnin nodded. "Do you know how dangerous that is?" Kushina found herself agreeing with the blond, but looking at the Chūnin in a new light. Drinking someone like Jiraiya could not have been an easy feat and her admission had not only fueled her rage but her curiosity as well. Kushina _needed_ to know, it would drive her insane.

"Or stupid," She added, "You are Minato's girlfriend and someone I consider a friend. You have to take care of yourself." Holo looked between the two of them and much to their chagrin smirked.

"Calm down mom…" Holo began looking directly at her and Kushina growled as Kurama cackled even more in the depths of her mind. "Dad." Behind her Minato's frown deepened and he mumbled a 'not funny'. "I made sure he drank something way stronger and frequently than me." Then the Chūnin had the audacity to turn her attention away from them, apparently done with the conversation, and back to her Ramen before she began slurping it down.

"You may be good a cards Holo, but he is better."

"Be that as it may, he was extremely distracted by our waitress," Holo replied after cleaning her mouth with a napkin and bowing in respect to her finished bowl. "She happened to have a thing for more experienced Shinobi with good stories." The Chūnin shrugged, "I am sure her bust that was protruding out of her chest was quite the thing to look at as well. Plus she was blonde and quite beautiful if I do say so myself." She then turned to Minato and smiled the most vibrant genuine smile Kushina had ever seen out of the Chūnin. "Honestly, Minato do you have any siblings?" That floored the two friends, even so Minato still shook his head in response. "If I had to imagine you as a beautiful woman or even use someone to describe you, I would use her." Holo nodded to herself, "Her eyes were maybe a shade or two darker than yours and she had these weird marks on her cheeks." Holo brought her hands up and with three fingers wiped across her cheeks. "But I think it added to her exotic beauty."

"Holo!" Kushina interrupted with a snarl not wanting the Chūnin to weasel her way out of this. "The book?!"

"She was in on it."

"What?" This time, it was Minato who spoke having apparently found his voice and Holo sighed.

"She was genuinely interested in Jiraiya-Sensei, do not get me wrong. I happened to mention that he was holding something of mine that I needed back and had said that if she did not help me then I would have to resort to _other_ means to retrieve this item." Kushina couldn't believe what she was saying, " the poor girl looked horrified when I told her that little bit of information, kind of like how you two look now actually." Holo shrugged and downed her drink. " Honestly, I'd slit his throat before resorting to that, but she didn't need to know that and the easiest way to get what I wanted from him was to use a beautiful girl who happened to be bringing our drinks." Kushina looked over her shoulder to Minato who seemed to be in just as much shock about the whole ordeal as she was then turned to face Holo again and ask her final question.

"And how exactly did you know he had something like this?" Holo shifted in her seat a couple of times at the question then with an adorable flush under her cheeks when they wouldn't look away from her the Chūnin spoke.

"I didn't." She then said something really fast and quietly to where neither of them heard.

"What was that?" Minato asked first.

"I said, I just _reaaaally_ wanted to try and snag his newest novel." Kushina felt herself blanch at this admittance. "When I found this I was just as surprised as you two were. Embarrassed, but it _technically_ was what I was looking for. When Jiraiya-Sensei came to the next morning I was long gone and left a note for him in my place." It was here where Holo wouldn't look anywhere near where they were sitting and her blush deepened. "As I told Minato, it has a good plot and since Jiraiya-Sensei hasn't come back for it with force it is now mine."

"And the blonde?" Kushina found herself asking. Holo paused for a moment then rolled her wrist dismissively.

"I have no idea. Maybe she got another table?" She paused then shrugged, "It was like she was gone in a puff of smoke."

* * *

It was Tuesday and the both of them were still in the village, a feat with Minato being called out to the field as often as he was, so the two of them were at Training Ground 4 sparring with one another. "I was given another mission." Minato casually brought up as she dodged his fist directed to her gut by stepping back with her right foot and twirling around it bringing her right elbow to hit his chest. A motion he easily dodged by back flipping out of the way before coming forward with a downward kick. "Something about a bridge." Much to his surprise, Holo faltered for a moment and his foot connected with her right shoulder, she grunted in response and jabbed her finger into the dead center of his calf. It looked harmless but that simple action had a bit of Chakra infused with it and sent a surge of pain throughout that muscle forcing him to stop his kick before fully connecting and pulling away. "I take it you have seen that mission?"

The two of them had been fighting for the last three hours, it was a means for the both of them to let off some steam from a pretty horrible week. As weird as it was the two of them bonded over it though no one really believed that they were in-fact sparring during the hours they would disappear with one another. That was not to say that the idea had not, finally, crossed his mind after the tenth time it had been brought up. "Break?" Minato nodded at the offer and Holo nodded spinning around to fetch the bento's she had brought for them. It had been six months since they had first started 'dating', six months since they had hatched this plan to get Kushina to realize just how much she truly cared for Minato. Holo was a character and definitely not someone he wanted to wrong. "If you think I will not eat your food, you are wrong!" She yelled from the position under the tree, he red eyes glancing over at her from the rice bowl she was digging into.

Minato chuckled and rubbed the back of his head before he jogged over and sat next to her under the tree. As he ate the lunch made for him the Namikaze couldn't help but reflect back on a conversation he had with Shikaku when all of this started all the while looking over at the sweat covered Chūnin sitting next to him from the corner of his eye. He couldn't help but mentally curse his friend for his intelligence slash borderline premonition-esque abilities. _A woman who can Cook, Keep me on my toes and Protect what she cares about? Huh._ He never said much and it was always the random remarks he made that seemed to inevitably be the most important thing he said. Holo's sigh brought him back from his thoughts just before she spoke. "Kanabi Bridge?" He nodded, "Maah. That can turn the war in our favor, no?" She looked up at the sky and genuinely smiled, something that always bugged him though he hadn't noticed until just this moment. Her most genuine smiles always seemed to be when she was looking up at the sky thinking about something, he hadn't ever seen her smile like that because of anything he or anyone else has ever said. "That was a two-team based mission, was it not?"

"Yeah." Minato frowned and was surprised when a hand fell on his shoulders and offered him a light squeeze. "I know, I know they aren't kids."

"But they are." He looked over at her just as she glanced back down from the stars in the sky and back at him. "Whether you like it or not they will always be _your_ kids. Just like the Sannin are _still_ Hokage-Sama's kids. You guys will always have that bond and nothing will break that." Minato smiled and nodded in understanding.

"I am truly sorry."

"Maah, don't be. We lived good lives. Wrong place, wrong time was all that was." She waved him off. "Your kids are all Chūnin now, right?" He nodded, "That explains why they were so insistent that you take the mission." He watched as she looked over his shoulder and seemingly got lost in her thoughts once more. "Well, I suppose as now is as good a time as any." She shrugged reaching into her weapons pouch and pulling out a three-pronged Kunai. "You asked what I would put the seal on, right?" He nodded as she tossed him the weapon, "It was hard to find someone who could make them to my preferences, but alas someone managed to finally do it correctly." She paused, "And they call themselves blacksmiths." He heard her mumble as his eyes went over the specialized Kunai before he tossed it into the air a couple of times. "That is what I would use. It is made to be as accurate as a normal Kunai and has additional prongs to latch firmly onto whatever you feel like throwing it at." She paused and followed the Kunai to where it landed in a tree a good bit away. "I would have liked you to have practiced with them before having to use them, just so you can get the kinks out before you go out there but..." She shrugged, "Beggars can's be choosers I suppose." He couldn't help himself, he laughed and she scowled in response. "What?!"

"I think that is the longest string of sentences you have ever said in one go." He brought his hand down onto the top of her head and she glared at him in response. "Are you worried?"

"Yes." Minato had definitely not been expecting that answer or for it to be as quick as it was. "Minato-baka you are making a name for yourself and that means you are going to have a target on your back. More importantly, your team is. I know you can stand your own ground and I am not saying that the kids cannot. I am simply saying that is this not going to be the first time that they are on a mission on their own?" She didn't give him time to even nod, "They are a dysfunctional team as is, we all know that. I merely worry for them is all and I want to ensure that you have a means to get back to them." She stood up and pulled her hair up into her hands, "Please don't forget that you can easily 'pop' in on them and make sure things are alright if you have the time." Minato's eyes narrowed.

"Holo, what aren't you telling me."

"That's the thing Minato, I am telling you a lot. A lot more than I would tell anyone else," She paused and sighed dropping her arms and her hair fell down her back. "This is a newer seal. This will be the first time you use these Kunai. This is an important mission. This is going to be, what I assume Hatake-Senpai's first mission as Jōnin without you. And this mission is out in the middle of no man's zone pretty much." Minato stood up and wrapped his arms around her when she brought her fingers to her nose to pinch the bridge. An obvious sign she was flustered, upset and/or stressed. "I am worried." She finally admitted after another longer sigh. He stepped back and looked down at her offering her the best reassure smile he could muster while he tried to ignore the organ that was trying to bust out of his chest.

"Everything will be alright." She sighed and shook her head, he could see the smile but at the same time, he could see the pulled back annoyance in her features as well. "What?"

"That's up there on the list of things not to say." She chuckled, "Not quite as high up there as 'what could possibly go wrong,' but still." Ruby eyes locked with his and Minato found himself smiling beside himself. "You idiot. Finish eating." She wiggled out of his grasp and sat back down, although she was a bit farther than where she was last time. Shaking his own head and returning to his meal Minato watched as she began stretching her limbs out, he was not completely familiar with all of them but he had seen her do them or a variation of them after every spar and during their breaks. As far as he was concerned she was unusually flexible, even for a Kunoichi... but she admitted to taking pride in it and he couldn't count the number of times she had dislocated joints to get out of his holds and such in spars.

There was a practicality to it.

* * *

The reaction was instinctive and Kushina looked down at the item she caught with her left hand as she sat minding her own business in the Tea Shop. It was a book and it was covered in blood, Kushina hadn't needed to look further for the perpetrator who had thrown the small book at her while she waited for her meal. The deviously smug Chūnin had sat across from her and was resting her chin on laced hands, the largest grin plastered on her features and overall she looked like a giddy child in a candy store. Kushina's violet eyes glanced back down at the book then the Chūnin when she didn't make a move to speak or explain herself."Turn to page 349." Kushina's expression immediately flattened and that only seemed to rile Minato's girlfriend further. "Fine you party pooper, turn to page 86." When Kushina made no attempt to move Holo curled her nose up and freed her hands before rolling her wrist, "Come on! I promise it will be well worth your time."

Kushina rolled her eyes, but curiosity had won out and she was skimming through what was obviously a foreign ninja's Bingo Book. Her eyes glanced up at the giddy Chūnin once more, who had lost all of her prior amusement and giddy demeanor and was instead looking at the book intently. Like a predatory would the killer of its young. When those Red predatory orbs looked up at her Kushina found herself quickly shooting her sights down to the book. _78, 79, 80..._ She snuck a glance up at Holo finding once again that her sights were set on the book and now her posture had tensed. _81...82... 83._

Her heart skipped a beat, possibly five and her eyes shot back up to Holo using every will in her body to _demand_ answers for what she was looking at. When those cold eyes shot back up to her and narrowed again Kushina found her sights back down at the book and straight into pools or cerulean blue. "Where did you get this?" Her fingers ran over his image as her mind began piecing information together. _Minato as in a Bingo Book..._ She had always figured he would have ended up there, especially with him to become the Yondaime Hokage, but seeing it made it all the real.

"Go ahead and read out loud that page."

"Name, Namikaze Minato. Village Konohagakure. Rank, Jōnin." It was all typical information, but looking up to find Holo nodding with her chin back on laced hands made her continue. Holo was a lot of things, Kushina had come to know since meeting the Chūnin but everything she did was done after being thought out and she knew that while this could have just been a ruse to start a conversation... something in her gut told her that there was more to this than just that. "Height, appx 175cm. Birthday, unknown. Registration Number," Violet eyes widened in shock and she looked up to Holo who seemed bored with the whole ordeal as she cleaned under her nails.

"Go on, go on. Hokage-sama is already aware of that piece of information." Her eyes shifted back up to those deep pools of blue and Kushina couldn't help but frown. This didn't bode well for them, they had someone in their own ranks who were not on their side.

"06510... Classification: Flee on sight?" She couldn't help herself, it came out as a question and she shot her attention back at Holo who seemed to be once again giddy and unable to sit still in her seat. The last bit of information after his registration number had been written in by hand and while she wanted to say that is what it said she still wanted verification. It didn't take long for pieces of information to begin forming the big picture in her head and with every passing second, she could feel her own excitement building up within her. "So that means?!"

"Yep!" Holo smirked.

"And it was?"

"Uh-huh."

"YATTA!" Kushina cheered as she jumped up from her seat and looked in the book for any new information. "This stuff is fresh meaning that it is happening right now." She had buried her nose in the book and therefore hadn't seen Holo's knowing look and smile that would have given her away in a heartbeat. When she did look back up, instead she saw a look of confusion on her features and the orange-haired Chūnin's head cocked to the side. "Don't you know what that means."

"I mean I thought I did, then you began spewing utter nonsense out of your mouth." Holo jibed back, "What do you mean 'it is happening right now?" Kushina paused and held back a blush, embarrassed she had said that out loud and not internally toward Kurama like she had thought. Speaking of said Fox, he wasn't the least bit excited by this bit of information. Seriously, he snoring in the back of her mind. He was asleep! "Oh! You mean the Seal right?" Holo rolled her eyes, "Of course you do. What else would it be." Thankful for the interruption and distraction Kushina nodded vigorously. "I mean it has to be working, they are writing in the book to run away from him if they see him." She fell back into her seat and let out a sigh, "What I would do to see it in action."

"Right!" Kushina joined in sliding back into the chair and blatantly ignoring the other customers in the shop that had looked at her when she shot out of her chair. "He would have died five times over at least without the two of us looking out for his idiot self." She laughed and much to her amazement Holo joined in for a second as she snagged the book back and flipped through a couple more pages before handing it back to her. "He is not the only one making a name for himself," She added with a smirk and an arched brow, curious once more Kushina looked at the book and reeled back.

Staring back at her was a picture of herself.

Her eyes scanned the information, unhappy about how they had her birthday and even specified that she was a survivor of Uzushiogakure. Unlike Minato's page, which had a lot of handwritten in gibberish, hers was well written and the calligraphy was legible. "Oi! What's this?!" Looking back up to find Holo staring back at her with slightly widened eyes Kushina spun the book around and pointed to the offending piece of information. "What do they think I am?! Some kid running around?" She ranted as red orbs scanned the page then paused and she smirked. "What's so funny?!"

"Shorty."

"I am taller than you!" Kushina defended and Holo merely shrugged and leaned back in her seat. It was when her eyes steeled over when Kushina calmed herself and listened intently to her next words.

"Keep reading." It wasn't nice or in her typical voice. It wasn't cold and distant either, no it was just stated. Kushina looked down at the page and her heart stopped and she felt the blood rush from her face.

 _Classification: SS-Rank. jinchūriki, host of the Kyuubi._

 _Capture at all Costs._

 **"That is going to make this war a bit more interesting."** Kushina ignored the Fox and instead her eyes went over that piece of information a few more times as he continued speaking. **"They were bound to find out _who_ it was eventually. You don't just lose a Tailed Demon." **He added as her violet eyes slowly shifted from the page and toward Holo, who was now picking her teeth with a toothpick looking as uninterested as she had earlier.

"I personally don't give a damn." Kushina frowned confused, "Minato and I actually tossed ideas in the air as to who we thought the Host was." Her heart froze, "Your name was mentioned as the most likely of candidates, so you don't have to worry about his reaction to the whole thing." Holo waved her hand dismissively, then seemingly saw something under her nail and went to pick at it. "What bothers me most is that this information is now out there in these Bingo Books, meaning anyone who picks it up is going to know about it. If you ask me you can use this to your ad-"

"You don't care?" Kushina couldn't wrap her mind around the whole ordeal, "And Minato knows?" Holo nodded slowly and eyed her cautiously though it was nothing like how Kushina would have expected someone who had just found out that their boyfriend's childhood friend happened to be the most terrifying of all Tailed Beast's Host would have... instead she looked _concerned._ That didn't make sense, not with anything that Melody had shared with her. All of her son's life he was hiding the fact he was a demon from everyone he knew. His team had yet to have found out as far as she had been informed and everyone who had, outside of the Shukaku's host, had been terrified of him. The very people in the village, the Counsel had been terrified of him. People had used this piece of information to play him like a pawn, something neither of them could condone.

"Everyone has their secrets Kushina." Holo's hand fell on her shoulder and where it did Kushina felt a spark. "And we are entitled to them. I do not condemn people for having secrets, we are not called The Village **Hidden** in the Leaves, are we not?" Kushina absently nodded, "Right, no. It is what you do once the secret is out that will make or break a character. This secret is out Kushina." Holo removed her hand, "And the repercussions are not going to be small or localized." Holo paused and shut the book before sliding it closer to the Uzumaki. "So tell me, what are you going to do?"

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

I am by far a horrible human being, making you all wait all this time for a chapter. Here is the deal, I started writing a three part Christmas Special and then life threw a curveball and I kid you not all of my muse during all this time. Seriously. No Joke.

I actually was sitting at work when the muse hit me again, but, of course, I didn't have my phone or notebook with everything for this story so there were a lot of blanks when it came to details. (Remember how I mentioned re-writing the whole thing because I realized my timeline was crap- Yeah I am one of those guys.)

I cannot say that the posting will become more frequent, but I have not given up on this. Far from it.

Also, I want to thank you guys for the reviews. I do read them and try to fix anything you mention. My writing style is a little odd (I have realized), please continue to send them in and tell me what you think. I will not be that guy and wait for a set number, but do note I do read them and try to fix things as I get critiques and advice. :3


	22. Chapter 21

Quick Note: This is going to be a very Melody-specific chapter and will hopefully address some of the questions I have received. Noted this was not written because of those questions, it just happened to play out this way.

Please Enjoy:

* * *

The situation Minato found himself in was quite comical, he had walked up searching for Holo for their morning training. She was snoozing on a tree branch looking more comfortable than anyone he had ever seen, though he'd never tell her that she looked adorable because he wouldn't hear the last of it. He didn't know how she had heard him coming, but could recall a couple of times where she had mentioned that she was a bit more perceptive than others. Whenever he had attempted to divulge any more information on that topic she would, quite skillfully, deflect the conversation and he wouldn't realize it until later in the day. It was a bit annoying, but he was respectful and knew that if it would ever become relevant she would bring it up.

Until then he would just have to trust her.

"Stubborn doesn't even begin to describe her." Even though Holo's voice was light and carried in the breeze he could feel the exasperation behind it as she had rolled off of the branch and had he not moved to catch her he wasn't too sure if she would have caught herself. Not that she couldn't, but he had learned in the time they spent together that she didn't always think things through. "She loves you." His heart skipped a beat and his attention was forced out of his own thoughts and to the Chūnin who had escaped his arms and was now pacing in front of him. "Don't ask me how I know." The Chūnin tapped her nose and winked at him, she then went back to pacing but retreated into her mind.

"She does?" If looks could kill he would be dead, what was comical about the whole thing was that he would have died over a look of disbelief- it made him feel stupid for opening his mouth. Not an uncommon occurrence when he found himself in her company, the woman kept him on his toes and didn't allow him to play off of his 'clueless' routine. Which proved to be a pain when he wasn't playing the part and truly didn't understand. Rare as those times were, but it still sucked when it happened.

"Yes, you blind fool." Holo placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward allowing her long faded orange locks to fall over her shoulders. "Everyone in the village has known it, that's why there was such a roar when she started throwing other women at you and announced it to the world that she would be doing so." The blond nodded, having also been off guard at the sudden announcement himself. "Anyone who had half a mind knew better than to jump at the option, especially after Mikoto and Fugaku's first couple of meetings. You have the best kind of friends, you know." Minato rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Hell, even Hokage-tem-sama talked to me about it."

"Teme?" His eyes narrowed and Holo held up a single hand.

"I respect the man and it is for that reason why I call him that." Her explanation was subpar at best, "That's a story for another day. But, he knew and something tells me that he has known about this for far longer than he has let on." She began pacing again, "How on earth does he know so much, I have yet to go up to him with anything that caught him off guard. Nor have I ever seen him off put…noted the man had the Sannin as students, if that didn't prepare you for the unknown and unexpected I suppose nothing would." Her pacing paused and she turned to him with a set frown, "It's actually a bit intimidating." Her Ruby eyes locked onto him and the blond frowned still a bit off put himself about the intensity of them. "Why the hell would anyone willingly go to war with him in charge?!" The Jōnin couldn't help himself, he laughed. "And I digress, back to the topic of the fiery stubborn redhead that stole your heartstrings…I think I've got a plan."

"Define 'plan' in this context." Was his immediate response as he leaned back on the tree she had been snoozing on, "Something tells me it's not so much as a plan as it is a scheme?"

"Po-TAY-to, Po-TAH-to." She waved him off, "Hear me out before you go thinking the worst of me. I've got myself a B-ranked mission on hold." She explained before pulling a scroll out of her weapons pouch, his eyes narrowed further and she held up her hands defensively albeit her expression didn't seem the least bit concerned. "It came in this morning before Hokage-Te-Sama had made his rounds and I was relieved." She opened the scroll and walked over turning around so he could read its contents over her shoulder. "It's a simply B-ranked mission, but I have reason to believe that it's going to be at least an A-ranked possibly S-ranked mission."

"Why is that?"

"Believe it or not, you can learn a lot by working in the mission's office, I know handwriting and I can tell you that the person who wrote this is not the same person who wrote other requests in this person's name. It's obviously a ruse and something that could easily have been overlooked." The way she had said that as if she were stating facts was admirable, even to him.

"Easily?"

"I don't think you understand just how much work goes into running a village at war." She shot looking at him from over her shoulder, "I mean running a village by itself is quite the hassle, throw a war on top of it and it is pure chaos. We are undermanned and overworked, sue us for being tired." He hadn't thought too much about that having only filled in for mission desk duty a few times himself, "Anyway, not the point. I don't know who this person is and have gone through other requests in an attempt to match the calligraphy, I didn't find any." She turned her attention back to the scroll as she spoke and he too looked the contents. "I typically say there is no such thing as a simple C-ranked mission, but in all actuality, there are absolutely no such things as a 'Simple mission'…period. There are too many variables that go into each one and you have no way of being able to predict the outcome or even what may occur while you are out at one. I have an inkling that this is going to evolve quick and the reason I had taken the scroll before giving it to Hokage-te-Ugh-Sama is because I wanted to verify my suspicions and gather evidence to bring to him when I go in after our training. All of which has been done."

"And how is this going to help with Kushina?"

"Again I digressed, so. I have an inkling that this isn't going to be a simply B-ranked mission. As such I am sure the Hokage will agree, especially given the ridiculous amount of time and evidence I have gathered since I took it. There is no way in hell I would send some poor Chūnin out on this mission, it wouldn't feel right. I also wouldn't feel cool with sending out a Jōnin with any possibly Gennin. They would be slaughtered." Minato wouldn't ever vocally admit how bothered he was about her word usage there, "So I am going to speak with the Hokage and see what he thinks about sending out a two-man team of Jōnin ."

"Which is where Kushina and I come into the picture."

"Exactly." I know that if I were you I wouldn't want to take the Hatake out on a mission so soon." He tensed, it had been a couple of weeks since the funeral but still it felt like a dream to him. He still expected to find the Uchiha run up late to their training sessions, he expected Rin to be pinning over Kakashi for attention and he expected Kakashi to give Obito a hard time. The two of them, though they would never admit it, were the closest of the three of them. They had practically grown up with one another and Kakashi seemed to finally be opening up to the idea of comrades and friends. It was such a huge step forward for him since his father's death, Minato couldn't begin to guess how Kakashi would cope. He seemed alright, but Minato knew better than to take him at face value. "Even if he is adamant about doing something, it's not good for him." She shut the scroll and stepped away from him to turn and frown. "If I believed otherwise, I would be pitching for the two of you to go out on this mission. He may be playing it as if he is alright-."

"It could be what he needs." He cut her off.

"Maa, remember how I said it could be as bad as an S-ranked mission?" He frowned deeper, "Exactly, he does need something. But burying himself in work and suicidal missions is not what he needs. He needs to be reminded that there are still people here he cares for, that he still has a pack."

"And sending two of us off is going to show him that how."

"Look, I am balancing a lot of moving pieces right now." She glared and popped her hip out to the side as her hands fell on her hips, "I have a couple of idea's for what to do while you are gone and a more than willing Taijutsu-specialist willing to help his rival out."

"He is going to kill you if he finds out."

"I am betting on that." There were a number of questions running through his mind about this plan of hers. He had made it his mission to ensure that the Hatake was looked after, even if he didn't want it. Most of the time that help came in the form of Jiraiya and Holo and with the Sannin out of the village for an indefinite amount of time, it had become something that Holo made her personal business.

"What makes you think it could be S-ranked."

"Again, it's just one of those _feelings_ I got." She scrunched up her nose something she did when she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"You are going to need more than that to convenience the Hokage."

"Not to keep the Hatake out of the mission, no I am not. I believe that he and I will see eye-to-eye about keeping him out of the field for longer than a month. Plus, the punk hasn't bothered going to any of his meetings with Inori if the complaining Yamanaka's word holds any truth." She sighed, stepped forward and shut the scroll. "Inori cares too much for the people he is assigned to that and if rumor has it he was close with Sakumo-sempai, therefore whether he openly admits it or not he cares for the squirt. I am willing to bet my life that he won't even think about sending him out on a mission anytime soon."

"You seem fairly close to the Hokage Holo-." He had to stop himself from adding an honorific, it was a habit that was hard to kick even with both Holo and Kushina threatening him every time he slipped up. Honestly, who would have guessed that the two female's he found himself close with would be the two who absolutely abhorred the practice?

"Comes with working in the mission's office, unfortunately." The Chūnin grumbled, "Trust me it is not something I was working toward." She then rolled her shoulders, placed the scroll in her weapons pouch and seamlessly chucked a Kunai at him, initiating their daily spar.

* * *

She knew that her days were numbered, somewhat because she still had a vague memory of the big events heading her way but namely it was because she had a snarky fox constantly reminding her of the dangers that were coming any second he got the chance.

Currently, the Soldier was staring at herself in the mirror looking back at the familiar image she had long since lost all those years ago, yet she still remembered every single scar and how she had earned them. They were a piece of her a physical reminder of what she lived through and survived. Her eyes followed her fingers as they grazed over the large gash across her torso, shrapnel that killed the patrol she had volunteered to go out of the wire with after their medic had been killed. The only one injured during that ordeal had been a civilian who made it out alive... short one leg.

Her fingers then traced over the indent on her jawline where her prior husband had jabbed a fork up her jaw. The stitches were a bitch not because of the suture itself, but more because it wasn't as if she could stop eating for two weeks and they itched like a mother fucker every time she spoke. An easy situation to avoid, if you were not Melody had felt the need to voice your opinion whenever you heard someone say something stupid... which was all of the time with Sebastian around.

"Living up to your reputation I see." She voiced and she rolled her eyes as a chuckle escaped her lips. She knew that if he hadn't wanted to have been noticed, he wouldn't have been. She may have been good at what she did, at adapting and learning how to utilize these 'Shinobi tricks', but she wasn't brought up in the world and didn't have nearly as many years honing them as he had... even if she was only technically a year younger than him.

"It's a shame a woman like yourself is riddled with scars," She narrowed her eyes as she popped her head out of the shirt she was throwing on, "Though it does add to your allure." Again her eyes rolled and it took everything in her to not throw the brush she had picked up to go through her thick unruly curls. As nice as it was to have pin-straight hair as Holo, she did miss the daily battle she had taming her hair.

"Another mission I presume." She interrupted, not wanting him to continue to go wherever the hell he was going to go with his current train of thought on the topic. While she wasn't looking at him, she could feel the air around him intensify. It was hard to explain, but she could tell that whatever it was he had to say he cared passionately about- those were the only times he ever got legitimately serious.

"You need to hang out with the punk." It wasn't even a statement, it was more of an order and she wasn't exactly sure if she wanted to have this conversation over the flirting she had just derailed from.

"You are going to have to be more specific than that." When he made no move to answer and instead she felt his gaze intensify further Melody continued brushing her unruly curls down enough for it to actually hurt. "Nearly everyone is a punk in your eyes." The two of them remained silent for another two or so minutes and if she were to be completely honest it was getting to her.

"Hatake's kid." She paused mid-brush and frowned, as far as she knew Kakashi was doing far better than what she recalled from her time. Rin was helping mostly with that, the girl had tried to have Kakashi gank her. Which he nearly had, but Melody was a nosy person and just so happened knew what was going to happen the moment she had overheard the medic was kidnapped. Was it the smartest move? Well, even Kurama wasn't too sure about that. On one hand, that meant that the village had another tailed beast on their side for when shit hit the fan... at the same time if someone could control the bloody Nine-tailed demon did they really want them to have access to another? Sarutobi wasn't too happy with her not telling him about her plans, but the good news was that Rin gave Kushina something to focus her attention on and the village loved Rin. She wasn't going through the same thing she remembered Naruto having to live through, noted the situations were completely different but the fact of the matter was that this was proving to Kushina that the village wasn't as bad as her memories (and previous opinions) had made them out to be.

Anyway, the way she had avoided that catastrophe was by throwing one of Minato's Kunai ahead of the punk. He wasn't too happy about the situation he ended up in, but they had both agreed to drop it until they were both calm. When they had brought it up to talk she had explained that she happened to be in the area on her own mission and there was no way in hell she could do anything about it so she threw the kunai. She knew he didn't completely buy it, but having Sarutobi in the room who backed her up did help and so they both agreed to let it drop. Or rather, he had said that he would read about it when he became Hokage... to which Kushina had to add her two cents about. It was honestly the best debrief she had ever had, given what could have happened.

Jiraiya cleared his throat and she whimsically smirked, the point was that she and Kakashi were not on speaking terms as of yet.

After the incident, he had still joined the Anbu much to everyone's apparent dismay. When Minato had asked her, Holo, about it. She had stated that maybe it was just something he needed, that there was no way anyone of them could understand what was going on in his head and perhaps seeing the darker side of the world they lived in would help him find himself. Find the answers he so dreadfully needed, but couldn't find as is. Minato wasn't too happy about her views, nor was Kushina... much to her amazement Fugaku was the one to back her on the matter. Pointing out how good he was at it and giving inside on some of the events he was privy to.

Now if she were to be completely honest, she only agreed with maybe a quarter of what she had stated and that was being generous. While logically she knew that being in the Anbu formed Kakashi into the man she had come to learn to idolize, she also knew that the circumstances were much different and she had no idea how Rin being alive, her being around on top of Kushina and Minato not being a thing would impact him during this pivotal point in his life.

"I hang out with him frequently." She defended, "Why I was with him jus the other night." She looked back at the Sannin in the reflection of her mirror and watched as his eyebrows danced on his forehead. In response, she chucked the brush back at him, which he easily caught and tossed onto her bed. "He is like my son."

"Does he know that?"

"So help me Merlin, Jiraiya."

"Calm down, calm down. Or I won't tell you my juicy secret." The Sannin interrupted. "

"Please never, never use that adjective around me again." Melody groaned unladylike as she stood up and snagged her headband off of her bed and proceeded to tie it around her neck.

"My birds tell me that your son is into someone."

"I really do not want to know anything about his sex life, or the fact that you apparently have people watching him-" He cut her off.

"You know that is not a half bad idea."

"Don't act like you don't already." She grumbled elbowing him as she walked passed to exit her room. "How else would you know something like this?" She added as they entered her living room, "You have a network of people keeping tags on people of interest. Foreign and Domestic, Friends and Foes. I am not stupid Jiraiya."

"Or is it just that you know of things to come."

"Continue to keep my name off of that list, or you will rue the day that Sautobi chose you over Tsunade-sensei with my little massive secret." She eyed him as they fell back onto the couch. He laughed and she smirked in response, the man was too nosy for his own good and would make a damn good spy in her world. Not that she would ever tell him that, the last thing she needed was to feed his ego. His stupid reputation and successful series of books did enough of that. The last thing anyone needed was a woman who knew their future to admit just bad-ass he was. She could only imagine the hell that would cause.

"No promises." He kicked his feet up onto her coffee table to which she kicked his legs off as she leaned back onto the armrest of the couch. "But seriously, you need to get him and that adorable teammate of his talking to one another again. The village is splitting over who he is going to end up with, her or Anko-Chan."

"I have other matters that take precedence over that." The brunette lied as she crossed her arms. "And stay away from Rin, you perv. She has enough on her plate already?" She had been reaching for the scroll and brush on the table when the end of that statement finally clicked. "Wait~" She jerked her head to face him and nearly slammed into the table in the process. "Anko?!"

"It really seems to be upsetting Rin-chan."

"Forget Rin, did you say Anko and Kakashi are hanging out together?"

"Orochimaru's student?" He asked to which she nodded. "Yes."

"Since when?!"

"And you say he is like a son."

"Jiraiya." She warned when he pursed his lips she knew he was done talking and instead trying to figure out why that little bit of information created that kind of reaction out of her. Did Melody ever mention how annoying perceptive, smart and clever Shinobi were? Or how much it bothered her? "I'll hang out with Rin and play some damage control which I need you to do with these rumors." She stated, "We both know the last thing she needs is something for Isobu to latch onto and manipulate her with."

"Kushina and Inori have stated she is doing well."

"Both luckily and unluckily for Rin, Isobu is the youngest of the beasts I believe and he isn't a complete ass by nature." Thinking back on the past seriously gave her a headache and sadly most of her memories were sealed up in Kushina. Kurama had explained that he could retrieve them, but she would surely notice and there was no saying that once she released them Kushina wouldn't be hit with them as well. He added that while she was short-tempered and fun to pick on the Uzumaki was not stupid and she was just now beginning to possibly accept that Melody was, in fact, dead. "I wouldn't bet a limb on that information either, he wasn't exactly important and I don't remember much about him."

"And what are you going to do about Kakashi?"

"As I stated I just saw him and told him I would be out on a mission for the next month." She didn't miss the paternal look he gave her, "It would look suspicious and concerning if I swing by again. It was bad enough I 'randomly' swung by yesterday."

"Emi."

"I am just following a lead, Jiraiya. Believe it or not, you aren't the only one with a spy network." She cringed, she hadn't meant for that to come out as condescending as it had or even at all. She stood up and snagged her Green Vest and threw it on continuing on with her statement only because he hadn't once let his gaze waver off of her. "It is quite impressive, your spy network that is. But you don't know what to look." His eyes narrowed further, "More importantly I have no intention of dragging anyone into this any soon than absolutely necessary."

"And when will that be?" He stated, bringing himself up off of the piece of furniture. "You are returning from these missions of yours practically dead on more occasions than we are wanting to admit. Don't you dare think we haven't noticed? We know something is coming our way and whatever you have shown Inori in your mind has him waking up with nightmares. Training Inoichi and his team like the war hasn't ended. Which it has if you were unaware. This is a time of peace, Emi and if there is something the village needs to know about."

"There is not." That was the blandest she had ever heard her voice sound. "You are not incorrect, the village is at peace and therefore my statement to is not incorrect. There is no problem." She grabbed her headband from under her vest as she continued speaking, "There is always going to be a threat, we are a militarized Village with well trained Shinobi and a tailed beast under our control." She then went to attach her weapons pouch, "The war may be over as far as the civilians- the villagers are convinced but we both know that just because all is said and done on paper that does not mean the enemy are done with it."

"Is the Hokage aware of this?"

"Of what exactly?" She asked turning to face him as she opened the door and held an arm out for him to exit, following after him as he spoke.

"Whatever you are planning for?"

"Do you really think I would be doing any of this if he were not on board and convinced it was necessary himself?"

"Sensei is not a stupid man. You could have very well not told him anything, just left him trail and idea of what was to be coming our way."

"In that case no. While he has an idea of what I am trying to prevent, I can guarantee that even he -The Professor- has no idea what lurks in the horizon." The two them were well onto making their way to the marketing area of the village when Jiraiya finally chose to open his mouth and correct her.

"You do know the war isn't over."

"No shit."

"Just making sure."

"Bite me."

"Gladly." She held an arm up to hold him back as he leaned in towards her, the both of them were smirking like idiots at their banter.

"No, means no you perv!" Melody hollered earning the attention of any and everyone woman in the nearby vicinity who were always game to attack the Author and Legendary Sannin when they could. As she watched him, for show obviously, run away from the hordes of woman she couldn't help but think about how glad she was she had been given this opportunity.

* * *

"I would like to say it looks a bit better in here than last time, but…" He didn't finish his sentence but instead brought his hand up to catch some of the rain falling from above as his expression remained neutral. Melody rolled her eyes as she stood under the not-quite-pleased Demon Fox in her mind. His already dark red fur was darkened further by the water, though he remained stationary where he sat on the ground. The only sign of his displeasure, for Inori at least, was the cat-like flickering motion his tails made.

"In my defense, I have a lot on my plate right now."

"Would you say that all of this is necessary stress?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely." While he had become acquainted with her mental companion, Inori still didn't trust the beast of legends and kept his space even if it meant standing in the imaginary rain in her mind. "I can't help, but feel as if we are fifteen from on the clock." When the demon grunted in what sounded like agreement Inori frowned. "Yeah, I suppose we are a bit closer than that by now, huh?" As curious as the Yamanaka was about the demon fox, he had no intentions of getting on the beasts bad side. Which was a good thing for her side of the bet, the last thing she wanted to do was owe Kurama anything. Technically she was already indebted to him and likely for the remainder of her life here she would be, but that was a matter she was going to have to dissect and solve later. For now, the longer Inori didn't directly ask Kurama questions she could smugly smirk over at him whenever she damn- well pleased and it infuriated the Nine-Tailed Beast even if he didn't want to admit it half the time.

"The Clock?"

"I would be breaking nearly all of the rules we have come up with by explaining it to you." She smirked throwing a hand behind her back and smiling brightly, "Though I will explain it to you eventually, in some way shape or form." Everyone standing in the confines of her mind could feel the temperature drop a good number of degrees as the minute hand moved over one position. "Funny how there are some things that are so profound to you seem to stick around," She mumbled to herself, "I can remember the last time it was 15 before midnight and nothing good followed."

Her eyes fluttered opened when he exited her mind, it always felt as if she had woken up from a short nap after she had these sessions. "I will inform the Hokage of my updates, you are released for today Emi-chan." Her eye twitched but she stood and dismissed herself with a bow before exiting the room and then the building itself. She stood outside of the door for a good minute to allow her eyes to adjust, it was the middle of the day and she had a certain team to train if she were not mistaken. As she stepped forward she began humming a tune from her life before, due to the excess amount of knowledge she had to learn in order to basically survive in this world on top of what she needed in order to thrive a lot of her old memories were fleeting and outside of a handful of songs so were they.

Thankfully the annoyingly catchy songs too had begun to fade. This particular song she didn't believe would be leaving her mind for a while, it was something she always hummed when she was pressed for time and that had transitioned over into this world. Given the dire situation that was seemingly just around the corner, she had hummed this song almost once every day for the past three months. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions..." She winked over at the three teens who looked over at her whilst she sang, "Yeah." She was swaying in her own little world, it had been a good two weeks since Kushina and Minato had been assigned out on the mission. Her conversation with Sarutobi was short, they both wanted the same thing even if they couldn't openly discuss what that was with one another.

In the weeks that had passed since they departed she had met up with Team 7 three times a week, the three of them had only met up twice together as a team. More times than naught it was just her and Rin, understandable since the Hatake had figured out who she was and in retaliation had reclused further into his little Anbu life. **_"You still seemed a bit peeved about that."_**

"I would tell you to stop reading my mind, but I am positive you would go insane if you were left to your own devices." She paused and spun around two children chasing one another, "Or rather- you would purposefully look for things to embarrass me with. Which is something you still do, you know what. Whatever, yes while I do know that Kakashi needed to join the Anbu after Rin's death- the fact of the matter is that she is not dead."

 _ **"And you are concerned this is going to affect his decisions whilst a mask?"**_

"Why bother asking if you already know the answer."

 _ **"That is a logical conclusion I can draw without reading your thoughts, Vixen. Don't insult me."**_

"Right, right. Yes. I am a tad bit concerned about how that is going to affect him." She let out a long sigh as she began walking up toward the training grounds, once again only seeing Rin there. "I can't remember exactly everything that happened to him while he was in the Anbu, that came later and was something I only half paid attention to since I was between deployments. I can't for the life of me remember _what_ exactly happens while he is in Anbu but I have this _feeling_ it was something of huge importance."

"I have a message for you from Tsunade-sempai, Holo-sensei." Again her eye twitched, but the Chunnin left her thoughts and cocked her head to the side. "Tsunade-sensei wants me packed and ready to leave in two hours."

"Well, that was quick."

"What?"

"I was expecting her to leave weeks ago, I am honestly surprised she stuck around so long." Rin didn't know that she knew about her little-massive secret nor that she had been one of the guards during her proper sealing just before both Kushina and Minato had left. That was something she was sure that the medical-kunoichi wouldn't be too happy to learn about later, but it wasn't of any importance. "I take it she didn't give a set destination or time period for how long you are going to be gone?" When she shook her head with a small frown and a hand behind her head the wayward Soldier sighed. "So she just wants me to placate your sensei when he finds out you are gone, girlfriend or not...Alright, I assume you have already informed your family?" The pause between Melody's question and Rin nodding bothered the elder, but she said nothing of it and instead smiled sweetly. "Thank you for telling me darling, go ahead and get packed. Would you like me to meet you at the gate?" She was running off a gut feeling and when brown eyes looked up excitedly Melody was glad that she had offered. "Alright, squirt I will be there. Now hurry, shoo go get ready."

She watched as the brunette ran off and Melody's wide smile quickly slipped to a slight frown.

 _ **"I am going to ask you again-"**_ She cut him off

"I don't know. I am hoping this high-risk bet pays off, hopefully, Tsunade is nowhere near here when the curtain calls."

 _ **"And if she is?"**_

"Well, let us hope that Isobu and Rin get along far better than you and Kushina had before me. Or even you and her son at first." Kurama merely growled in the depths of her mind, retreating to do whatever it was he did while she lived out her life here.

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

This was about 6000 of pure story, as I said on my page this is one of the final chapters before in the First arc and because of that I am having a bit of writers block, lack of inspiration/will to end it. I can say I want there to be at least two more chapters in this arc (total), but may be able to pull five out. All of them 5000+ chapters.

Thank you for dealing with me and I hope you enjoy the final arc of this story.


	23. Chapter 22

"Missing?" Kushina looked from the Third Hokage to the other two occupants in the room, Jiraiya, and Minato. "What? How?" She knew the moment that they were told that the Hokage wanted to see them something was wrong. On top of that were the looks that a couple of the villages were giving them as they passed. She didn't miss the glares in her direction, not that she wasn't already used to that. What had caught her attention were the looks of pure sympathy directed toward Minato. Whether or not he had seen them she wasn't sure, he kept his sights straight ahead as the two of them walked through the village hand-in-hand.

"She was assigned out as part of a four-man B-ranked mission." The Third explained as he smoked his pipe, "It was a simple scouting mission to take place near the southern most border. I am sure you are aware of the situation going on in the Hidden Wave Village." She nodded as did Minato next to her. "They left for their mission according to plan, only Kei returned hours after they had left."

"Meaning the attack was near the village," Minato stated from next to her, she could practically feel the air around him shift as his mind began pieces together.

"The Genjutsu placed around the forest was impressive, in the ten minutes it took me o realize what it was and break it Kei was bleeding, bloodied and alone in front of me," Jiraiya spoke up from his spot leaning against the wall on the Hokage's right side. "Kohaku was found presumably at the attack site, however, there was no trace of a battle and both Holo and Sho were missing."

"And no one noticed?"

"The Genjutsu?" The Hokage asked Minato nodded, "No. Which is troubling for it to be near the village and no one to have noticed." Kushina bit her lip having caught the implication. The Third hadn't noticed the technique and if Minato's intensifying frown was any indication it was that he had caught onto that as well.

"There has to have been something left behind, any indication of who did this, how is Kei?" Minato asked crossing his arms and putting on his 'thinking face' as she had dubbed it.

"He had fallen from exhaustion from breaking the Genjutsu and only woke up recently." The Third explained, "The only information he had gathered was that the people who had attacked them wore Hitai-ate that bore a musical note." Kushina bit her inner cheek at that bit of information as the Third continued speaking. "He believes there was only one person in the initial attack, but saw three when he broke free. And he was unable to detect their Chakra levels either."

"He remembered one of them having blue, red and orange hair," Jiraiya added with a frown, Kushina frowned herself feeling as if she was just on the precipice of connecting the dots. As if she had been given most of the pieces to a puzzle and she was still unable to bring them together, Kurama cackling in the back of her head told her that he knew damn well what it was that she was not getting.

 _"_ _Should I even bother asking?"_ She asked already knowing the answering to the question.

 **"** **And miss out on the expression on your face when you finally realize what's going on?"** There was a scoff, **"Never."** She rolled her eyes and returned her attention back to the three others in the room with her

"We've already sent out a team in search of them." The Third replied as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, "They didn't find anything and since it has been a week given the situation of the world. I have ordered everyone to keep an eye out for them while out on missions, along with the keep an ear out for any information on this possible new village." He then shifted the topic, "Was your mission a success?"

"Yes, the Fire Daimyo and his family are safe and unharmed." Minato answered for them, "He said he would send word ahead." Kushina kept her attention on Jiraiya as Minato and the Third spoke. He wasn't an easy book to read, but given the amount of time she had known and been around him she has picked up on a couple of his quirks. The smirk on his place as he was looking at her was forced, she could tell by the tenseness behind it. It didn't reach his eyes, which if he hadn't had anything trying on his mind, would have held mirth behind them. Of course, he could have easily covered all of this up but even Jiraiya needed to unwind and relax.

"You are dismissed." The Third announced, Kushina bowed reflexively but not before giving the Sannin a knowing look. She was onto him and she had every intention of questioning him.

"I hope she is alright."

"We both know that Holo is a tough person to kill."

"That's the very problem," Minato admitted with a frown as they entered the Ramen Shop. "She knows too much and if these people are as powerful as they sound. Chance are they have done their recon and know just how important or rather knowledgeable she would be about Village affairs. Both she and Sho both worked closely with the Hokage."

"Sho, was the bitch behind the reception desk at the Office?"

"Kushina."

"What?! She was, ya know." Minato chuckled and she, in response, smirked. Teuchi hadn't bothered asking them what they would like and instead went about making their usual, a knowing smile on his face when he saw them walk in told her that maybe Minato wasn't bullshitting her and Holo had concocted this whole ordeal. Something she had every intention of thanking the female as she was to hit her, the Chunnin could scheme Kushina would give her that.

The two of them went on eating their Ramen in silence and she had to admit, while the two of them were alone… it didn't feel right. She had spent the whole return back to the village threatening to hunt down and smack the Chunnin when she returned. As true as that was she also wanted to treat her to some Ramen and thank her for the trouble she had gone through. Holo was a Chunnin who had no reason to do what she did, she gained nothing from it other than to see the two of them together. Hell, the Chunnin had been out of the village when she had first started this silly attempt to replace herself with another more 'Kushina' Kunoichi.

"She wouldn't want the two of you to let this bother what she put so much effort into," Teuchi replied from behind the counter, bringing the both of them from their thoughts.

"You knew?!" The embarrassment was almost too much to take and Kushina was sure it came out in the unintentional, shrill of her voice.

"Anyone with two eyes and half a brain saw what she was doing," Teuchi laughed, "I couldn't tell you how many times she came in here grumbling about how stubborn and blind the both of you were." The elder laughed, "She swore you two were going to be the death of her." Minato brought his hand the back of his head and laughed.

"Was it that obvious."

"To everyone but you two," Teuchi replied as he placed the pot where it belonged and dropped his apron. "There was an ongoing bet on whether you two would notice what she was doing before she got you two together." Kushina could feel her cheeks flushing, "Though I wasn't aware that Minato was aware of it for as long as he had been until after she sent you two off. After the Third informed her of the ongoing bet she laughed and told him that technically Minato always knew of her intentions, though he may have only recently realized just how dedicated she was…" He looked like he wanted to saw more, but another customer entered the shop. "It's been a long time, I'll have your dish ready in a couple of minutes."

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around teen before he could finish his response. "Sensei, Kushina." There was a momentary pause, "I could hear you from across the marketplace." Her friendly hug turned constricting.

"You little brat." She growled as Minato smiled behind her and greeted his student.

"Kakashi, you look well. You smell like you just left a burning building." She could feel the kid tense for a split moment before relaxing as she let go and sat back in her seat. Minato wasn't wrong, the Hatake did smell like something had been burnt to a crisp right next to him. And Kushina was willing to bet that it had nothing to do with training and everything to do with him trying to cook a meal. Luckily he was saved by Teuchi bringing out his favorite dish

She turned her attention back to Teuchi to give him privacy. "Wouldn't that mean that technically everyone lost their money?" The elder smiled brightly and laughed.

"She said something similar saying that she should get all of the money in the pot since no one had technically been correct." Teuchi paused and seemingly remembered something rather important before turning to Minato. "Speaking of Holo, she told me that if she couldn't that I was to tell you that Rin left with Tsunade about a month after you two left on your mission."

"Rin's gone?" Kushina frowned knowing that while he hadn't technically lost another student like he had with Obito, Minato would look at it as a loss. Even though the conversation had been brought up a couple of times before they left and he had given his blessing everyone could see that he didn't really want to. Minato was a man of many layers, that was something Melody had always told her, that his character always seemed to be simple and plain but she was positive there was more to him than shown. Kushina knew from experience that this was true, it was one of the many things she loved about him. "She could have sent word."

"You know she wouldn't." Kushina interrupted before Teuchi could, "You were on an important mission." When he didn't look convinced she continued. "Sure she was hoping that we would get together during this mission, but we had to make sure that the Daimyo and his family were safe as well. She probably thought that while it was important you had enough on your plate by having me out there and apparently knowing her hidden purpose behind sending us." She sighed, "Not that I am happy that apparently you, here and the Hokage were in on this but that is beside the point."

"She did the right thing." Kakashi spoke as he pushed his empty dish back toward Teuchi, "We all know she did. If it helps you any, she didn't tell me about it either."

"When did you find out?"

"Just now." If Kushina didn't know Kakashi as well as she did she would have missed the look that glazed over his features momentarily. "It would explain why patrols have dropped since Tsunade-Sama left instead of the opposite."

"You aren't happy she left."

"I am unaware as to whether it was the best choice." He turned to face them, "I am not questioning Hokage-Sama's logic. There are not many who would dare to challenge Tsunade-Sama, but everyone knows that if anyone can train her how to control Isobu it is you Kushina."

"A lot of chakra control goes into it." Kushina explained, "If there is anyone who has mastered that art~ it is Tsunade-Sama. She knows a bit about seals herself and I am sure has been explained on how to renew the seal before she was sent off. Rin and Isobu are both hesitant on allowing her to use his Chakra, her control is impressive but Demon Chakra is a whole different beast. I would feel more confident knowing Rin has been trained by Tsunade before she learned how to harness that Chakra from me." The Ramen Shop remained silent for far longer than she liked. "What?" Kakashi and Teuchi merely looked away, she was sure they were both smirking.

"You know that side of you I said not many had the chance to see unless they fought alongside you. The determined, wise, calculated genius hidden behind that short-tempered Habanero?"

"Shut up…" She grumbled swatting away his playful pointing.

* * *

"Impressive." She smiled clapping her hands in enthusiasm. "I mean, I cannot say it's okay. You did kill one of them, but I am surprised at how far you've come."

"You've helped a lot." He watched as the redhead blushed with the compliment and She just looked at him like a mother would their child...a sister would her baby brother.

"Oi! And just what exactly does that make us?!" The Orange-haired young adult bolstered as he swung an arm around the blue haired rather annoyed looking woman. Their dynamic was refreshing and reminded him a lot of his own group. He could easily see why She was drawn to them, even if it felt as if She had stomped on his heart by doing so.

"You don't have to yell, we are all standing right here." She complained as she grabbed his arm as if it were garbage and dipped out of his grasp. "Why do you have to be so loud?"

"Gosh, you guys are the best." She laughed, it was familiar soothing nostalgic, walking over and wrapping her arms around all of them. She turned around just as quickly and began tearing up, "They grow up so fast."

"Excuse me." Having just about enough of the situation he made his presence known, all of them spun to face him. All the while She shot an arm out, keeping them back. It was a surprise that she didn't attack him on the spot, given his prior experiences watching her that is exactly what he expected her to do. A part of him was hoping she would, they would fight he would measure her up and move on. No need to grow attached, no need to reminisce, no need to talk.

"Can you give us a minute?" The trio didn't look like they wanted to leave, but nothing giving the leader a pointed look didn't fix. He had to admit, a part of him was glad to finally have her to himself after all of this time. She seemed to be the only thing that was different, that was bringing change and he had every intention of finding out why.

"We'll be right outside if you need us." She nodded her red eyes not leaving him for a second and something was telling him that if he tried to anything she would give him a good run for his money. Once the three had left he let his shoulders drop and let out a long sigh.

"I wouldn't have ever guessed this is where you have been." He watched as her brows knit together and while she seemed to have relaxed in his presence as well he knew better, she was ready now more than ever to move if needed. Years of watching and training under her had taught him how to read her body language and it would seem that even here after all this time some things didn't change.

"What have you done with him?"

"With who?"

"Don't play stupid, who do you think?" She snarled as she waved her hand up and down, motioning at him. He paused and arched his brow, it was his turn to be confused.

"How long have you been here?"

"You are going to have to be a bit more specific than that." She growled but then something seemed to have crossed her mind. "Why didn't you attack Kakashi?" Her eyes already as intense as they were narrowed and darkened. "If you loved her, why didn't you do anything to stop her from being slaughtered."

"I wanted to." He broke, "With every fiber of my being I wanted to jump in the way and stop the fighting, but there are some things that cannot be changed no matter how hard I try." He paused, "Something that apparently doesn't apply to you." He snickered, "You never were the one to play by the rules, were you?" He let the question hang out for a moment, "I've been watching you a long time." He could tell that he was getting under her skin, but if she wanted to play stupid he would continue to dance around the one thing she truly wanted to know.

"Who are you?"

"Obito."

"Bullshit." Her left thumb twitched, indicating she was keeping herself from attacking him. A good sign, it meant she was willing to listen and then maybe he could start getting some answers to his own questions.

"You were always the anomaly," He began leaning back on the wall of the room they were in. "At first I figured you were just wishful thinking, that this was a dream. A familiar face of hope in my final moments of life, then I opened my eyes. So it must have been a dream a hallucination of my own creation." His eyes scanned around the room as he spoke, but darted straight to hers as the next sentence left his mouth. "Then we got word of the failed mission. Many were captured, killed or missing." Her eyes narrowed further if that was even possible. "Firebird and I couldn't believe it. But then they had us all evacuating." Had he moved, like his body was telling him to, he would have been hit by the kunai that grazed both his cheeks.

She was pissed. That much was obvious.

"Who the _fuck_ are you."

"I've already told you." She didn't seem to be hearing him, instead, he watched as a million thoughts flickered behind her eyes. He had seen that look plenty of times before, it convinced him of something he had already known but didn't have the heart to accept.

"Djinn, you have to be, it all make sense this world the impending doom." She laughed to herself and it had to have been the saddest laugh he had ever had grace his ears. Especially coming from her, his beacon of hope. "So what, I guess all of this is some fantasy of mine that I get to play out and alter, but in the end, nothing can be changed and like everyone else I am to die. The last of my life drained from me to feed you and here you are basking the glory knowing there is no way after all this time and effort I have put into this am I going to turn my back on it now." That laugh escaped her lips once more, "OH can my father call it or can he call it."

He was at her side in a flash, her arm shot out to attack him and it was like she had lost whatever control she had built up after all of these years. He had dodged her arm swinging back to clobber him upside the head but hadn't anticipated her leg to trip him. He was on his back for all of a moment caught off guard and shocked, then he was five feet away from her and the ground where he had been crumbled under the force of her punch.

Even he was shocked. Especially when those red predatory eyes locked in on him, he had never seen that look fall upon her features. Not here nor there and it bothered him, it honest-to-God bothered him.

She was fast, but he was faster and the wall behind him was gone as the three from earlier kicked in the door. He wasn't here to fight, he wasn't here to make an enemy. He was here to verify his hypothesis and he had done that and much more. He caught her leg as it came up to hit him upside the head and he slid four feet back from the sheer force behind it spinning around and using the momentum to send her toward her companions.

"What the hell is going on here!" The Orange haired man asked, or rather, yelled as he caught Holo as she now called herself. He could feel himself being pulled away and knew that if he didn't leave now then all of this effort that she had put into this would have been for naught. "Taicho?!" The woman merely glared at him, nonverbally daring him to do anything and he knew better. If he thought she was deadly then…well, you know what they say about mothers.

"I will take my leave…" The room around him disappeared in a swirl and he returned to the room that housed the Shinobi Worlds greatest enemy. He walked over to the bed and laid down, while he was showing up more often he had no intention of meeting the man that would bring the Shinobi World to their knees. If there were anyone who would catch on, who could possibly pull him back forcefully it was that man and they all had enough on their plate already. The last thing any of them needed was to gain his attention any more than they already had.

* * *

"From what I hear you and Holo had an argument before she went missing." Kakashi didn't bother looking up from his book when Minato came and sat across from him at the Dango shop. "I don't know what it was about, but some hospital workers say she had gone in there for a couple of broken bones from training that day." He could hear his Sensei trying to figure out just how exactly to bring up what was obviously bothering him.

"I had told her not to go easy." He chanced a glance over to his Sensei and he seemed to be mulling over what to say in response. "Dai and Guy do not understand the meaning of holding back." He explained shooting his eyes back down at the book when his Sensei gave him a questioning glance. "She threw me out of the way and ended up getting in the middle of both their Barrages."

"Why would she do that?"

"To let me see it." The two of them remained silent and in the time he finished three pages. "We had an argument, yes. There were something she was keeping from me, I don't like secrets though I understand the need for them." He sighed and shut his book knowing that chances were his Sensei's souring mood was because of his latest fix. "She claimed she would make it up to me and then went and allowed me to Copy their move." That seemed to knock him out of his thoughts.

"You were fighting with your Sharingan?" As tempting as it was to remind him that it wasn't _his_ Sharingan, Kakashi figured that this was neither the time nor place.

"As she and Dai blatantly put it, it is my best advantage and while I should maintain training to hold my own without it. I should also practice with it to allow my body to acclimate to it." His Dango came out and he quickly popped one of the delicious sweets into his mouth as his Sensei made to order his drink and ask for a moment to look at the menu. "I am not an Uchiha and therefore it will strain my body far more than it does theirs."

"You shouldn't speak with your mouth full." Kakashi let out an amused huff at his Sensei's deadpanned brotherly reprimand. "So she managed to get herself injured to win you over."

"Win me over?" He arched a brow and popped some more Dango into his mouth when he looked back up to find his Sensei staring at him seemingly in shock the Hatake rolled his eyes once more before popping another into his mouth. "Everyone has a face."

"You don't." The words were out of the blonds mouth before he had thought them over, that much was apparent even before it dawned on him and he backpedaled. "I mean, of course, you do. But you never show it to anyone."

"To anyone, I don't trust." His mask was back on by the time the waitress came back with his green tea. "Just give him the same thing I have." He ordered for his Sensei as his mind restarted. She nodded and told him it would be out in ten to fifteen minutes, though it didn't seem like his Sensei was processing anything just yet.

"You trust me?" Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how any genius was shoved in that head of his Sensei's. Honestly some things just seemingly flew over his head, it was a miracle Kushina hadn't murdered him yet.

"Isn't it obvious."

"You do know I have to ask why."

"Why I trust you?"

"W-was that sass?"

"No. Sarcasm." He paused and popped the third ball on his second stick into his mouth. "That... was sass." His Sensei excused himself from the table for a couple of minutes, Kakashi pulled his book back out and made it through the next two chapters along with his plate and his Sensei's plate of Dango before he returned. "I hope you don't mind."

"Who are you and what have you done with my student." His voice was steady and firm and Kakashi smirked under his mask. He goes and does what everyone tells him to do, be honest and open about what he thinks and this is where it gets him. To the point where his Sensei believes he must be an imposter. Though he couldn't blame the man, a lot has recently happened and he had been gone for a while.

"You haven't spoken with Inori." He placed the book on his lap and gave Minato his undivided attention. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with me, I am right here as I was when you left and before you showed up."

"You spoke with Inori."

"I lost a bet." That seemed to stump Minato for a moment.

"You lost a bet so you went to Inori."

"Me losing the bet meant I had to take my sessions seriously."

"Who'd you lose the bet to."

"Guy."

"And he wanted you to take your sessions seriously?"

"As soon as a certain Chunnin informed him that I wasn't, yes."

"That's brilliant."

"She's annoying."

"Can I take your order, Shinobi-san?" Another plate was placed in front of Kakashi and he waited patiently as Minato momentarily racked his brain for what would quiet his growling stomach.

"I'll take three sticks of Goma Dango."

"Of course, would you like another plate Hatake-Sempai?"

"No thank you." With that, she took off and he was stuck with Minato and he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that right now. So he derailed the conversation from his lost bet onto something more demanding. "She is going to be alright. She has an annoying knack for getting herself out of trouble." Minato visibly relaxed and brought his hand to his forehead.

"She also has an uncanny knack for getting herself into these kinds of situations as well."

"Exactly."

"If you are so sure she is going to be alright, then why are you here eating your fifth plate of Dango."

"Kushina sent you." It was a statement, Kakashi had a feeling that his Sensei's arrival was not as random as he wished it to be. Just like a certain annoying Chunnin, Kushina had made it her business to watch over him and take him under her wing. Minato brought his hands up defensively and smiled brightly.

"Guilty." He brought his hands down and leaned back into the seat, apparently he made up his mind to stay and enjoy the food. "She just worries about you."

"Apparently every female you know does." When his Sensei tilted his head to the side slightly Kakashi sighed. "Kushina, Holo, Mikoto… you know she seemed to be down every street I was watching on duty after Holo went missing. And there was a bento placed outside my door every morning." When Minato looked anything but surprised Kakashi knew that this must have been another one of those things he was aware of. "Holo made me her business long before you asked her to train us, were you aware that she was the one who got it into Guy's mind that I needed a friend and a rival?" Again he didn't seem the least bit surprised. "So the only one you hadn't anticipated was Kushina after my father died." His expression flattened, but there was still a small smile on his Sensei's features.

"She has a mind of her own." The waitress returned with his plate and excused herself just then. Kakashi made to take another stick only to find his plate had been moved and was now sitting in front of his Sensei. "I do believe you owe me a plate." The Hatake looked up as if thinking about it before nodding.

"I have had my fill and have somewhere to be." He could see the realization dawning on his Sensei's face just before he Shunshin-ed his way out of there and onto the Third Training Ground. Just because she wasn't around for the time being, didn't mean his training could let up. Guy and his father made sure of that and if there was one thing he disliked to this day it was facing someone who was better than him. Call it what you will, but until he could hold his own against father and son separately and together he was not going to stop.

* * *

 **Authors Note:** Hot damn this came out of nowhere. I was sitting around packing my room, getting ready to move when this bad boy hit me. It is not the best, but it is an important chapter for progression. I am thinking of drawing this out and finishing it in January, namely because I would love to post a Christmas special or two with this cast before we move on to the next arc.

Don't worry I started writing those already so they should be more than ready for the Holidays!

That being said I have an idea of where I would like these last 3-5 Chapters to go. These last couple of subscriptions I have gained have been the driving force to finish this Arc. I have been noticing and have not forgotten about ya'll. I promise.

This Chapter hit the 5000 marker, surprisingly. and introduced important cast. So I hope you enjoyed and look forward to seeing a couple of chapters before the Specian and Finale in January.


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